brightblade81
- Technology
Nuclear Moon Bases
When lunar astronauts flick on their televisions after a long day of prospecting, they’ll have a trashcan-size nuclear reactor to thank for their nightly dose of prime time. NASA, looking past the already daunting task of simply getting humans to the moon by 2020, recently started considering proposals for ways to power lunar habitats. Batteries and fuel cells provide only short-term solutions. Solar power would be limited where a single night lasts as long as 354 hours. So space-agency officials have started making plans to go nuclear.
11.20.2008 at 10:04pm - Comment by brightblade81"where a single night lasts as long as 354 hours." So if you locate the solar panels X distance away to a spot which has more frequent sunlight, you then have to run the power all the way from there to your lunar base, plus you need to have a large amount of batteries to store it in(which need to be replaced as well), etc, etc. So if you had the choice of 1 large piece of equipment (The above nuclear power source) or a bunch of large pieces of equipment (solar panels, solar panels, batteries, etc), I'd choose the nuclear powered one. Although I thought there were already some miniature nuclear reactors developed with no moving parts involved....I'm curious why NASA wouldn't choose that.
Download Our iPhone App
Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone with full articles, images and offline viewing
Follow Us On Twitter
Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed
Become a Fan On Facebook
Share links with friends, comment on stories and more
December 2009: Best of What's New
In our December issue, Popular Science names the 100 best innovations of the year: bombproof wallpaper, self-parking cars, the fastest helicopter, and 97 more. Plus inventor profiles and videos.
Check out the best of what's new here.
Popular Science Photo Pool
Popular on Popsci
Most Viewed
- IBM's Blue Gene Supercomputer Models a Cat's Entire Brain
- Intel Wants Brain Implants in Its Customers' Heads by 2020
- Mesmerizing, Isn't It?
- Batteryless Remote Control Pulls Power from Your Button Presses
- Video: The View From the Highest Man-Made Point on Earth
- New Reactor Uses Sunlight to Turn Water and Carbon Dioxide Into Fuel
- Google's Replacement for HTTP Protocol to Make Web Browsing Twice as Fast
- High-Pressure Diamond Anvil Creates a New Solid from Xenon and Hydrogen
- Amazing Aerial Photos from a Homemade Gas-Powered Paraglider
- The Dubai Airshow As Seen From Orbit
Most Commented
- Guess This Part, Win a Tool
- This Week in the Future, November 6-13, 2009
- This Week in the Future, November 16-20, 2009
- Intel Wants Brain Implants in Its Customers' Heads by 2020
- IBM's Blue Gene Supercomputer Models a Cat's Entire Brain
- This Week in the Future, November 23-26, 2009: Thanksgiving Special
- So Much For "Hopenhagen"
- CERN Successfully Brings Large Hadron Collider Back Online
- New Reactor Uses Sunlight to Turn Water and Carbon Dioxide Into Fuel
- NASA Robotic Rocket Plane To Survey Martian Surface
Most Emailed
- New Reactor Uses Sunlight to Turn Water and Carbon Dioxide Into Fuel
- Gallery: Hoover Dam Bridge
- World's First Osmotic Power Plant Goes Live in Norway
- High-Pressure Diamond Anvil Creates a New Solid from Xenon and Hydrogen
- President Obama Hopes to Jumpstart Science and Technology Education With New Initiative
- Mourning the Death of the Meta Media Experience
- The (Slightly) Poorer Man's Tesla: ECOS Harbinger
- Decoded Corn Genome Promises Higher Yields, Better Biofuels, New Plastics
- Everything You Need To Know About Chrome OS
- Roboticists Want to Make You an Electric Car Customized for Your Personal Commute
Today on PopSci.com
Copyright © 2009 Popular Science
A Bonnier Corporation Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
