JAKARTA - Rolls-Royce will build a nuclear reactor for a base on the Moon. This surprising plan has just received the green light from the British government.
Through an official release, the British Space Agency (UKSA) confirmed that it has supported research conducted by Rolls-Royce with disbursement of funds of 2.9 million pounds sterling or equivalent to IDR 54.1 billion.
The funds will later be used by the British luxury car maker to develop a program dubbed Micro-Reactor to provide the power humans need while living and working on the Moon.
"All space missions depend on resources, to support communication systems, life supporters, and science experiments," the UKSA said on its official website, quoted Monday, March 20.
"Nuclear workers have the potential to dramatically increase the duration of future lunar missions and their scientific value," he added.
UKSA said the new funds were built above 249,000 pounds provided by the UK government to fund studies by 2022.
For the first results of the new funding, they will provide an initial demonstration of the British lunar modular nuclear reactor.
The nuclear micro-Reactor will have a lightweight design compared to other power systems, power will continue to be detached from the site using available sunlight as fuel, and other environmental conditions.
The three main features of Micro-Reactor include the fuel used to generate heat, heat displacement methods and technology to convert the heat into electricity.
The potential application of Micro-Reactor Rolls-Royce technology is very wide and can support cases of commercial and defense use other than in space.
The goal is to create the world's leading power and propulsion capabilities for various markets as well as the needs of operators, in addition to clean, environmentally friendly, and long-term resources.
"This technology will provide the ability to support cases of commercial and defense use as well as provide solutions to decarbonize the industry and provide clean, safe and reliable energy," said Rolls-Royce Future Program Director Abi Clayton.
Rolls-Royce will cooperate with various organizations in the project, including the Advanced Manufacturing Research Center of Nuclear Sheffield and AMRC Universities, as well as the University of Oxford.
"Developing space nuclear power offers a unique opportunity to support innovative technology and develop our base of nuclear, science, and space engineering skills," said UKSA chief executive Paul Bate.
"(Roles-Royce research) can lay the groundwork to strengthen human presence on a sustainable basis on the Moon, while increasing the wider UK space sector, creating jobs, and generating further investment," he added.
If on target, Rolls-Royce will launch a reactor to the Moon in 2029. The partnership with Rolls-Royce comes after UKSA recently announced the 51 million pounds sterling fund available to British companies to develop communications and navigation services for missions to the Moon.
As part of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Moonlight program, which aims to launch a constellation of satellites into orbit around the Moon. Allows future astronauts, explorers, science experiments, and other equipment to communicate, share large amounts of data including high-definition videos, and navigate safely across the lunar surface.
It is claimed that this support for Rolls-Royce is a response to NASA's Artemis program, which focuses on presenting humans as a sustainable mission on the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.
NASA works with international and commercial partners on Artemis. In July 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the Moon.
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