The new fuel that could keep astronauts on the moon – 9/4/2023 – Science

Scientists have developed a new energy source that could allow astronauts to live on the Moon for extended periods of time.

The Artemis Program, led by NASA, hopes to have an outpost on the Moon by 2030.

Bangor University has designed nuclear fuel cells, the size of poppy seeds, to produce the energy needed to sustain life there.

Professor Simon Middleburgh of the university said the work was challenging – “but it was fun”.

The Moon, which is seen by some as the “gateway” to Mars, contains many valuable resources needed by modern technology.

The hope is that it can be used as a base to reach the planets beyond.

As space technology advances at a rapid pace, the BBC has exclusive access to the laboratory of the Nuclear Futures Institute at Bangor University.

The Bangor team, a world leader in fuels, works with partners including Rolls Royce, the UK Space Agency, NASA and the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the US.

Professor Middleburgh of the Nuclear Futures Institute said the team hoped to fully test nuclear fuel “in the coming months”.

In parts of the Moon, temperatures drop to staggering lows of -248°C because there is no atmosphere to warm the surface.

Bangor University is a major player in the quest to generate another way to produce energy and heat to sustain life there.

The researchers have just sent the tiny nuclear fuel cell, known as Trisofuel, to their partners for testing.

This Trisofuel cell could be used to power a nuclear microgenerator, created by Rolls Royce.

The generator is a portable device, the size of a small car, and “something you could put in a rocket”, said Professor Middleburgh.

This will now be fully tested and subjected to forces similar to those of an explosion in space, ready for a moon base in 2030.

He added: “You can launch them into space, with all the might … and they will still function quite safely when they are put on the moon.”

Earlier this month, India made a historic landing near the moon’s south pole with its Chandrayaan-3 robotic probe.

One of the mission’s main goals is to hunt for water-based ice that scientists say could support human habitation on the Moon in the future.

Professor Middleburgh said Bangor University’s work was putting Wales on the map.

“I would say we’re really pushing things [globalmente]”, he said.

The university hopes that microgenerators can also be used here on Earth, for example in disaster zones when electricity is cut.

The Bangor team is also working on a nuclear system to power rockets, led by Dr Phylis Makurunje.

She said: “It’s very powerful — the thrust it gives the rocket is very high. This is very important because it allows rockets to reach the most distant planets.”

Makurunje said the new technology could almost halve the time it takes to get to Mars.

“With nuclear thermal propulsion — you wait about four to six months to get to Mars. The current duration is another nine months,” she said.

Lunar Bases in the 2030s

Author and geopolitical journalist Tim Marshall said the advance on fuel was a step toward a global race to the lunar south pole.

He said: “I’m confident there will be moon bases in the 2030s. Probably a Chinese one; probably an American-led one.

“I’m confident because I don’t think the major powers can afford not to be there just in case this is, which it probably will be, a breakthrough.”

“So the Chinese are talking about 2028, putting the first brick in the ground, probably symbolically to say they were the first. But in the early 2030s, both will have a foundation,” he said.

“Titanium, lithium, silicon, iron and many other minerals are believed to exist and are used in all sorts of 21st century technologies,” he added.

“The actual amount is unknown…but most companies are confident it is enough to make it economically viable.”

He warned that things could get complicated as space is commercialized, citing outdated space laws.

“The road rules, such as they are, were written in 1967—the Outer Space Treaty.”

“It’s still a model, but it’s 50 years out of date because it didn’t know about modern technology, the competition that exists and the commercial aspects — because at that time it was very state-led.”

“So without up-to-date laws agreed by the United Nations, it’s a bit like free-for-all — and that comes with dangers.”

“Because if you don’t have the guidelines to operate, then the clear competition that will happen is operating without a legal framework.”