{"id":30734,"date":"2024-04-29T14:03:12","date_gmt":"2024-04-29T18:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/?p=30734"},"modified":"2024-04-29T14:03:12","modified_gmt":"2024-04-29T18:03:12","slug":"the-nuclear-reactors-that-could-power-bases-on-the-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/?p=30734","title":{"rendered":"The nuclear reactors that could power bases on the Moon"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"sc-189fa0a-0 jswiFB\" data-component=\"headline-block\">\n<h5 class=\"sc-82e6a0ec-0 fxXQuy\">The nuclear reactors that could power bases on the Moon<\/h5>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"sc-189fa0a-0 insmih\" data-component=\"byline-block\">\n<div class=\"sc-53757630-0 kzJBKg\" data-testid=\"byline\">\n<div class=\"sc-53757630-1 eXeXwD\">\n<div class=\"sc-53757630-2 fXzsQl\">\n<div class=\"sc-53757630-3 kLlYxB\"><strong><span class=\"sc-53757630-5 jMdGt\" data-testid=\"byline-name\">By Sue Nelson,<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"sc-53757630-6 hNZiXy\" data-testid=\"byline-role\"><strong>Features correspondent, BBC news, <time class=\"sc-53757630-9 kxMMwP\">18 April 2024<\/time><\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><\/div>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/future\/article\/20240417-the-nuclear-reactors-that-could-power-moon-bases\">https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/future\/article\/20240417-the-nuclear-reactors-that-could-power-moon-bases<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc-53757630-10 cgddUg\">\n<div id=\"popover-wrapper\" class=\"sc-a4da5d26-0 ca-dvVo\" data-testid=\"popoverWrapper\">\n<div id=\"popover-trigger\" data-testid=\"popoverTrigger\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"sc-189fa0a-0 drFcDI\" data-component=\"image-block\">\n<div class=\"sc-83607862-1 ijYvQn\" data-testid=\"hero-image\">\n<figure style=\"width: 896px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-83607862-0 jvrVsN\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/480xn\/p0hrkg4h.jpg.webp\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/160xn\/p0hrkg4h.jpg.webp 160w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/240xn\/p0hrkg4h.jpg.webp 240w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/320xn\/p0hrkg4h.jpg.webp 320w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/480xn\/p0hrkg4h.jpg.webp 480w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/640xn\/p0hrkg4h.jpg.webp 640w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/800xn\/p0hrkg4h.jpg.webp 800w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/1024xn\/p0hrkg4h.jpg.webp 1024w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/1376xn\/p0hrkg4h.jpg.webp 1376w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/1920xn\/p0hrkg4h.jpg.webp 1920w\" alt=\"Getty Images Nasa artist's impression of Moon reactor (Credit: Getty Images)\" width=\"896\" height=\"504\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Getty Images Astronauts living on the Moon will need lots of power \u2013 but they can&#8217;t take fuel supplies with them. A new generation of miniature nuclear reactors could be the answer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><b class=\"sc-ed73b9f2-0 jhhdRT\"><\/b><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"sc-189fa0a-0 insmih\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<p class=\"sc-e1853509-0 bmLndb\">The 1970s TV series <a class=\"sc-8fed6dee-0 gPEPzk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.space1999.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Space: 1999<\/a> began \u2013 like many a sci-fi drama \u2013 with a bang. A nuclear explosion tears the Moon out of Earth&#8217;s orbit and sends Moonbase Alpha and its inhabitants on an exciting adventure through deep space.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"sc-189fa0a-0 insmih\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<p class=\"sc-e1853509-0 bmLndb\">It obviously left an impression on a young Elon Musk. In 2017, when envisioning <a class=\"sc-8fed6dee-0 gPEPzk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/37549-elon-musk-moon-base-mars.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SpaceX&#8217;s plans for a future Moon base<\/a>, he named it Alpha. Today, SpaceX is working with Nasa to return humankind to the Moon&#8217;s surface as part of the US space agency&#8217;s <a class=\"sc-8fed6dee-0 gPEPzk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/artemis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Artemis programme<\/a>. The planned lunar outpost, however, has a more pragmatic working title: <a class=\"sc-8fed6dee-0 gPEPzk\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.nasa.gov\/artemis\/2020\/10\/28\/lunar-living-nasas-artemis-base-camp-concept\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Artemis Base Camp<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"sc-189fa0a-0 insmih\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<p class=\"sc-e1853509-0 bmLndb\">Nasa and the US Department of State have issued combined guidelines for peaceful lunar exploration in the form of the Artemis Accords. So far 36 nations \u2013 including India, Japan, the UK, Canada, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and South Korea \u2013 have signed up.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"sc-189fa0a-0 insmih\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<p class=\"sc-e1853509-0 bmLndb\">China is also spearheading a base on the Moon with an equally practical title. The <a class=\"sc-8fed6dee-0 gPEPzk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unoosa.org\/documents\/pdf\/copuos\/2023\/TPs\/ILRS_presentation20230529_.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">International Lunar Research Station<\/a>, announced in 2021, currently has Russia, Belarus, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Venezuela, Egypt and South Africa as signatories.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"sc-189fa0a-0 insmih\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<p class=\"sc-e1853509-0 bmLndb\">But whichever coalition builds the first base on the Moon, they will all need a reliable power source. Across the world many companies and space agencies have all come to the same conclusion.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"sc-189fa0a-0 insmih\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<p class=\"sc-e1853509-0 bmLndb\">&#8220;The truth is that nuclear is the only option to power a moonbase,&#8221; says Simon Middleburgh from the <a class=\"sc-8fed6dee-0 gPEPzk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bangor.ac.uk\/energy\/nuclear-futures-institute\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nuclear Futures Institute<\/a> at Bangor University in Wales.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/future\/article\/20240417-the-nuclear-reactors-that-could-power-moon-bases\">READ MORE<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The nuclear reactors that could power bases on the Moon By Sue Nelson,Features correspondent, BBC news, 18 April 2024 https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/future\/article\/20240417-the-nuclear-reactors-that-could-power-moon-bases The 1970s TV series Space: 1999 began \u2013 like many a sci-fi drama \u2013 with a bang. A nuclear explosion tears the Moon out of Earth&#8217;s orbit and sends Moonbase Alpha and its inhabitants on &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/?p=30734\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">The nuclear reactors that could power bases on the Moon<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":645,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[133],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-astronomy-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/645"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30734"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30735,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30734\/revisions\/30735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}