19 Jan (NucNet): Initial tests in Nevada on a compact nuclear fission system designed to sustain a long-duration NASA human mission on the inhospitable surface of Mars have been successful and a full-power run is scheduled for March, officials said on 18 January 2018.
Testing of the ‘Kilopower’ nuclear system began in November 2017 at the US Department of Energy’s Nevada National Security Site. The aim is for Kilopower – which uses a uranium-235 reactor core roughly the size of a paper towel roll – to provide energy for astronaut and robotic missions in space and on the surface of Mars, the moon or other solar system destinations.
The Kilopower reactor, a joint venture between NASA and the DOE, is designed to operate at two sizes, a one kilowatt model and a 10 kilowatt model.
The one kilowatt model is for deep space missions, a mission to another planet like Pluto or one of the moons of Jupiter. The 10 KW version is either for deep space or the surface of Mars, where four or five units could be deployed.
The DOE’s Los Alamos National Laboratory said the reactors would be used to create oxygen and purify water, and to make liquid oxygen and propellant for returning to Earth.
“This is a small nuclear reactor concept that is very simple and uses a minimum number of parts in order to produce power,” said Patrick McClure, project lead for reactor development at Los Alamos.
