NASA Awards Contracts for Lunar Fission Power Designs

NASA , Awards Contracts for Lunar, Fission Power Designs.

On June 21, NASA announced that three suppliers had been contracted to provide concept designs for a nuclear fission energy system to be used on the moon.

On June 21, NASA announced that three suppliers had been contracted to provide concept designs for a nuclear fission energy system to be used on the moon.

The contracts were awarded to Lockheed Martin, Westinghouse and IX.

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TechCrunch reports that each of the companies will each receive approximately $5 million for developing the designs.

Those companies will reportedly work with partners to develop "initial concepts" to be submitted to NASA.

The project, a partnership between NASA and the Department of Energy (DOE), is expected to take about 12 months.

The designs include a 40-kilowatt power generator capable of operating at that capacity for at least a decade.

TechCrunch points out that the small generators could help solve some of the challenges NASA faces in setting up a prolonged presence on the moon.

NASA's Artemis program looks to return humans to the moon for the first time in decades and establish a permanent outpost on our largest natural satellite.

According to NASA, the fission generator project could also have implications for deep space exploration.

The generators developed through this contract could be applied to new propulsion systems used in long-range spacecraft