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The interim administrator of .Nasa, Sean Dafi, recently announced a plan to install an atomic reactor on the lunar surface by 2030. He said that the US is in a new space race with China to claim the most resource-rich part of the moon.
Water snow and constant sunlight form parts of the moon, especially near the South Pole, ideal to establish a permanent moon base. These conditions are important for both maintaining human life and creating power.
“There is a certain part of the Moon that everyone knows that he is best,” he said. He said, “We have snow there. We have sunlight. We first want to go there and claim that for America,” he said.
Why is an atomic reactor on the moon?
Unlike solar energy, the fragmentation system can operate around the clock-invaluable during weeks-lunar nights or martian dust storms.
In particular, spacecrafts orpied to the Earth or deployed on the moon are usually operated by solar panels.
However, the solar power alone will not be enough for the long-term human business of the moon, Roger Myers said, an expert of space-based nuclear power,
“The sun set on the moon for two weeks,” he was Qopted by owner Are saying “You must have another source of energy: sun and batteries do not work. We have nuclear power.”
‘Énergy is the key’
Dafi first explained in August that energy is the key to establishing a permanent base, and that is why it wants a 100 kW nuclear reactor placed on the moon within the next five years.
He said that such reactors would generate the same amount of electricity that uses a specific American domestic in 3.5 days.
America vs China for Moon
The US is running to place nuclear power reactors on the Moon and Mars, and expects to launch the first system by the end of the decade.
NASA is currently working to return astronauts on the moon through its Artemis program, aimed at installing one or more base on the lunar surface by 2030 or more.
Meanwhile, China also plans to establish a moon base in partnership with Russia and many other countries.
A successful manned landing before 2030 is to promote China’s plans to create a “basic model” of the International Lunar Research Station by 2035.
In this manned base led by China and Russia, an atomic reactor will be included on the surface of the moon as a power source, “said the Reuters.
Race between America, China
NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return to the moon and establish a permanent appearance near the South Pole, has faced repeated delays.
The timeline for Artemis 3, the first planned crew landing, has slipped to 2027, a date as something seems to be seen as a planned lander, SpaceX’s starship, far away from ready.
Meanwhile, China is targeting 2030 for its first crew mission and has proved to be more expert in completing its time limit in recent years.
Atomic reactor on the moon. Is it illegal?
A space advocate said that a lunar atomic reactor may “look dramatic, but it is neither illegal nor unprecedented.”
The University of Mississippi said, “Nothing in international law is banned on peaceful use of nuclear power on the moon.” Conversation,
He said that if deployed responsibly, it can allow countries to peacefully detect the moon, promote their economic growth and test technologies for deep space missions.
What is it important for this? ‘No one can own the moon’
Honalon explained why it is important to be the first to do so. He said, “The first country to succeed can shape the criteria for expectations, behaviors and legal interpretations related to lunar presence and influence.”
The space law expert said that the construction infrastructure is not making a regional claim. He said, “No one can own the moon, but a country setting a reactor can work and how – other functionally, if not legally,” he said.
She further admits that a reactor on the moon is “not a regional claim or a declaration of war. But it is a infrastructure.”
The idea of using nuclear power off-planet is not new
Since 2000, NASA has invested $ 200 million towards developing small, light fragmentation electrical systems, although according to the new NASA instructions, the first reported by Politico and anyone has progressed towards the readiness of the flight. AFP On Tuesday.
The most recent attempt came in 2023 with the completion of three $ 5 million industry study contracts, focused on generating 40 kW power, enough to run 30 consecutive houses for 10 years.
NASA formally committed to the use of nuclear power on Mars in December 2024 – the first of the seven major decisions required for human exploration of the red planet.
In addition, the 1992 principles of the United Nations are considered relevant to the use of nuclear power sources in external space that nuclear power may be necessary for missions where solar energy is insufficient.
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