The establishment of a colony on Mars will undoubtedly be one of the greatest achievements of mankind. Achieving this goal, however, presents a unique set of challenges.
Getting humans to our nearby celestial neighbor will be a difficult task in itself, but once they get there, how will astronauts sustain life and eventually come home? This is a question that experts have been working on for years and Wednesday we have come closer to a workable solution.
NASA and the National Nuclear Safety Administration of the Department of Energy (NNSA) have successfully demonstrated the commissioning of a miniature nuclear reactor that could one day be used to long-term missions on the Moon, Mars and beyond.
Nicknamed Kilopower, the small, lightweight fission system is capable of delivering up to 10 kilowatts of electricity continuously for at least 10 years. Combine a few units and you will suddenly have enough power to establish an outpost, says NASA.
The prototype uses a cast uranium 235 solid reactor core that is about the size of a paper towel roll. The heat from the reactor is passed through passive sodium heat transfer pipes to high efficiency Stirling engines that convert heat into electricity.
David Poston, chief designer of the reactors at the NNSA's Los Alamos National Laboratory, said he had thrown everything he could into the reactor during the tests and that he passed with flying colors.
NASA stated that the project will continue as part of the Space Mission Directorate's Game Change Development Program to transition to the Technology Demonstration Mission program over the course of the year. fiscal year 2020.
[ad_2]
Source link