Nasa to build nuclear reactor on the Moon: Is it possible by 2030?
Solar power, long the default for space missions, faces major limitations on the Moon.The lunar day-night lasts about four Earth weeks, two weeks of continuous sunlight followed by two weeks of complete darkness, making uninterrupted solar energy impossible without massive, impractical batteries.Experts agree that nuclear fission is currently the only viable technology to ensure consistent power for habitats, life-support systems, experiments, and potential lunar industries.Nasa's target design is a compact reactor capable of generating around 100 kilowatts, enough to power approximately 80 homes on Earth. While much smaller than terrestrial nuclear plants, it would mark a huge leap from the few hundred watts delivered by current space-based nuclear generators.TECHNICAL AND LOGISTICAL CHALLENGESBuilding and deploying a reactor on the Moon brings daunting technical hurdles. The system must be lightweight enough for rocket transport, robust enough to survive the lunar landing, and engineered for remote assembly and activation in harsh conditions without atmosphere or reliable cooling water.Designers are adapting proven technologies, transitioning from traditional terrestrial reactors to modular, autonomous fission systems capable of withstanding wild temperature swings and micrometeorite impacts.Transport safety is crucial, too. The reactor would likely launch in an unirradiated state, minimising risks during transit. Once operational, management of radioactive waste and decommissioning processes must comply with international space treaties to protect celestial bodies from contamination.
Designers are adapting proven technologies, transitioning from traditional terrestrial reactors to modular. (Photo: Getty)
IS THE 2030 TIMELINE FEASIBLE?Experts say the 2030 deadline is ambitious yet achievable, if enough funding and political backing materialises.The engineering is possible; prototypes of compact, remote-ready reactors already exist, and Nasa has awarded contracts for lunar reactor design since 2022.However, fluctuating agency budgets, legal complexities, and the inherent risks of space nuclear operations could slow progress. The American space agency is going through a period of intense insecurity with major budget cuts under the Donald Trump administration, followed by mass layoffs.The space agency is also facing a brain drain as scientists and engineers remain uncertain over employment at the multiple affiliated organisations of Nasa.
Experts say the 2030 deadline is ambitious yet achievable. (Photo: AP)
THE BIGGER PICTUREThis moonshot isn't just about energy. The first nation to establish a nuclear reactor on the Moon could gain a strategic edge in the competition for extraterrestrial resources and future Mars missions.If successful, America's lunar reactor would stand as a centerpiece in sustaining humanity's future off-Earth, a challenge that is truly monumental but now, remarkably, within reach.- EndsMust Watch
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
28 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Intel shares rise 4% on report of possible US government stake purchase
Trump, who called the meeting "very interesting", has taken an unprecedented approach to interventions and deal-making with corporate America Reuters Intel shares rose 4 per cent on Friday on hopes of more financial aid for the turnaround of the struggling chipmaker after a report that the U.S. government may buy a stake. The Bloomberg News report followed a meeting between CEO Lip-Bu Tan and President Donald Trump on Monday after Trump demanded the new Intel chief's resignation over his "highly conflicted" ties to Chinese firms. Trump, who called the meeting "very interesting", has taken an unprecedented approach to interventions and deal-making with corporate America. His administration had struck a deal with MP Materials that would make the Department of Defense the largest shareholder of the rare-earth producer. Federal backing could give Intel more time to revive its loss-making foundry business, analysts said, but it still faces a weak product roadmap and trouble attracting customers for new factories. Under the Biden administration, Intel had emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the 2022 CHIPS Act, as former CEO Pat Gelsinger laid out plans to build advanced factories. Tan, however, pared back such ambitions, slowing construction of new plants in Ohio. He plans to build factories based on demand for the services, which analysts have said could put him at odds with Trump's push to shore up American manufacturing. The report said a deal would help build out the Ohio plant, which has faced delays and was expected to be completed by 2030. It could be a "game-changer", said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. But he warned "government support might help shore up confidence, but it doesn't fix the underlying competitiveness gap in advanced nodes." Intel lost its competitive edge years ago to Taiwan's TSMC . It has virtually no presence in the booming AI chips market dominated by Nvidia and is losing market share in PCs and datacenters to AMD. Its latest 18A manufacturing process is facing quality issues, Reuters has reported, as only a small share of chips produced are good enough for customers, while it remains partly dependent on TSMC to make Intel in-house designed chips. "Intel also needs capability; can the US government do anything to help here?" Bernstein analysts said. "Without a solid process roadmap the entire exercise would be economically equivalent to simply setting 10s of billions of dollars on fire."
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
India building commercial silicon fab with 50,000 per month wafer production capacity: Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills India is building a commercial-scale silicon-based fabrication facility (fab) that will churn out 50,000 wafer starts per month, even as such fabs usually operate at 20,000-40,000 wafer starts per month, electronics and information technology (IT) minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on minister was referring to the Rs 91,000 crore fab being built by Tata Electronics in Gujarat's Dholera, which was approved in February last semiconductor manufacturing, a wafer is a thin, circular slice of a crystalline semiconductor material, most commonly silicon, upon which integrated circuits are fabricated."Six semiconductor units, one fab and five Assembly, Testing, Marking, and Packaging units, are at different stages of planning, construction and execution. Four more (one silicon carbide fab and three ATMP including the most advanced packaging unit) were approved last week. The entire ecosystem - design, fabrication, packaging, equipment, chemicals, gases - taking shape in Bharat," Vaishnaw said in a post on social media platform of the largest equipment manufacturers—Applied Materials and Lam Research—are setting up their design, production, and validation facilities in the country, he comments came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his Independence Day speech that while the first proposal to set up a semiconductor factory in India got killed 60 years back, the country will finally get semiconductor chips that are 'Made in India' and 'Made by Indians' before the year is on the PM's statement, Vaishnaw said semiconductor industry pioneer Robert Noyce had come to India to set up a plant in 1964, but the erstwhile Permit Raj implemented by the ruling Congress Party back then did not allow him to. Royce then moved to Hong Kong and founded global tech major Intel Corporation , Vaishnaw claimed in his "the Mayor of Silicon Valley," Robert Noyce was an American physicist and entrepreneur who co-founded Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957 and Intel Corporation in 1968. Fairchild Semiconductor was a pioneer in the manufacturing of transistors and of integrated circuits, while Intel created the world's first commercial microprocessor chip—the Intel 4004—in 1971. Both companies were founded and incorporated in minister also pointed out that Intel had once again tried to set up a semiconductor unit in India in 2005-06. "Once again, it was not allowed because of the policy paralysis of the UPA regime," Vaishnaw said, questioning Congress General Secretary and Member of Parliament Jairam Ramesh on it. Earlier in the day, Ramesh had posted on X that the Semiconductors Complex Ltd (SCL) was established in Chandigarh during the Congress regime, starting operations in Vaishnaw argued that despite being established so many years back, SCL, Mohali, continues to work at just a lab scale.
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Intel shares extend rally on Trump investment report, stock jumps 4%
Shares of Intel jumped on Friday after a report claimed that the Donald Trump administration is mulling a stake purchase in the US chipmaking company that has been facing struggles in the recent time. A Bloomberg report, which came shortly after US President Donald Trump met Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, said that the US government would pay for the development of Intel's factory in Ohio. Investors cheered on the news and the stock price hit a high of as much as 8.9 per cent on Thursday before closing 7.4% higher at the end of trading at $23.86. The Intel shares continued their upward movement on hopes of more financial aid for the turnaround of the struggling chipmaker, rising 4 per cent on Friday. The Ohio plant of Intel has faced setbacks, with the opening of the factory delayed to 2030. The US government investment in Intel is also expected to shore up the chipmaker's finances, which has been down to a point where the company has started layoffs as part of its cost-cutting efforts. The White House however did not confirm the authenticity of the report. 'Discussion about hypothetical deals should be regarded as speculation unless officially announced by the administration,' said White House spokesperson Kush Desai. The report comes as Trump indicated that he would announce tariffs on semiconductors next week. Donald Trump, who called the meeting "very interesting", has taken an unprecedented approach to interventions and deal-making with corporate America. His administration had struck a deal with MP Materials that would make the Department of Defense the largest shareholder of the rare-earth producer. Federal backing could give Intel more time to revive its loss-making foundry business, analysts said, but it still faces a weak product roadmap and trouble attracting customers for new factories. Under the Biden administration, Intel had emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the 2022 CHIPS Act, as former CEO Pat Gelsinger laid out plans to build advanced factories. Tan, however, pared back such ambitions, slowing construction of new plants in Ohio. He plans to build factories based on demand for the services, which analysts have said could put him at odds with Trump's push to shore up American manufacturing.
