Well, this might be helpful for Mars, too, if they’re cheap enough. You can refuel a Starship enough to return to Earth in one synod if you have like 10 of those, which would be about 60t, which should be doable for a refined cargo lander of Starship HLS to Mars.
NASA’s focus is on designing, building, and demonstrating a low enriched uranium fission surface power system that is directly applicable for Moon and Mars, scalable to higher power levels
. Two large dedicated lunar cargo missions, likely launched on CLVs [commercial launch vehicles], are needed to deliver the Pressurized Rover (PR) and the Surface Habitat (SH) to the Artemis Base Camp site in preparation for longer term exploration of the lunar surface. A Fission Surface Power (FSP) system is also delivered on a cargo lander to demonstrate this capability, and as possibility serve as a dissimilar backup power supply to support base camp operations. [...]FSP is a compact fission electric power system with a common design approach for both the Moon and Mars surfaces and for deep space science applications. The concept envisioned for the lunar analog shall be a self-regulating design capable of distributing power to other surface assets at a (TBD-HEOR-006) power level up to a minimum of one kilometer via a cable and provide radiation shield protection to the crew and other assets to mission dependent (TBR-HEOR-006) as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) levels. The FPS operations shall also be controllable via commands from Earth. The system is designed to be activated within 24 hours after landing via commands from the lander or from Earth. After boom and radiator deployments, a simple mechanism is commanded to retract the control rod in the reactor core, allowing fission to begin. Once the reactor reaches operating subsystem temperature and a commissioning phase is complete, continuous power is available. There is no radiation hazard prior to activation on the lunar surface, and the system includes a dedicated radiation shield to protect the crew and surface assets following activation. To maintain ALARA human radiation dosages, the FSP must be landed to maximize the use of natural terrain shielding from the SH. The reactor is self-regulating, and power management and distribution, along with 1 km of power cable, are provided to demonstrate and, if necessary and as able, provide recharging capabilities for other lunar assets such as the Pressurized Rover. Surface assets, such as the unpressurized rover, will deploy the 1 km power cable from the FSP.
Lunar Surface Power.-The agreement provides up to $40,000,000 and no less than the fiscal year 2023 enacted level for Lunar Surface Power, including up to $20,000,000 for Fission Surface Power. NASA is directed to use Lunar Surface Power demonstration funding for payload development and associated delivery services via the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
Duffy to announce nuclear reactor on the moon:https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/04/nasa-china-space-station-duffy-directives-00492172https://twitter.com/politico/status/1952475477781692747
The reactor directive orders the agency to solicit industry proposals for a 100 kilowatt nuclear reactor to launch by 2030, a key consideration for astronauts’ return to the lunar surface. NASA previously funded research into a 40 kilowatt reactor for use on the moon, with plans to have a reactor ready for launch by the early 2030s.
NASA plans for lunar fission power systems face fiscal challenges:https://spacenews.com/nasa-plans-for-lunar-fission-power-systems-face-fiscal-challenges/https://twitter.com/SpaceNews_Inc/status/1681995836408971264
While a nuclear reactor proposal seems a feasible development for human lunar exploration, the date makes it unfeasible. Both Starship and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander are expected to be operational by 2030, and the companies involved in the Fission Surface Power project can probably have prototypes ready by that deadline, given their work over the last several years. Still, nothing can go wrong to make the deadline, and we feel that nuclear reactors are not one of those things you would want to rush to get out there.
Until permanent human settlement is working, no RFP will be necessary.
”There's a certain part of the moon that everyone knows is the best," Duffy said. "We have ice there. We have sunlight there. We want to get there first and claim that for America."Because the moon rotates so slowly, the lunar surface experiences two weeks of darkness at at a time. That means solar power won't be efficient to power a crewed outpost — most robotic lunar rovers can't even survive the lunar night.
At 1:03 in the video, Duffy says:It's a hundred-kilowatt output. That's the same amount of energy a 2000-square-foot home uses every three and a half days.He doesn't understand the difference between energy and power. Ugh.
