Rolls-Royce gets funding to develop miniature nuclear reactor for moon base

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The company hopes to have a demonstration model for a modular micro-reactor ready to deliver to the moon by 2029.

Artist's illustration of a moon base powered by Rolls-Royce microreactors.
Artist's illustration of a moon base powered by Rolls-Royce microreactors. (Image credit: Rolls-Royce Holdings)

The U.K. Space Agency has decided to continue funding a project by Rolls-Royce to create a small nuclear-powered reactor that could serve as a long-term energy source for lunar bases. 

The new boost to Rolls-Royce’s research pot follows a previous $303,495 (£249,000) study funded by the U.K. Space Agency in 2022. With the new funds, the company hopes to have a demonstration model for a modular micro-reactor ready to deliver to the moon by 2029.

In a March 17 press release, Rolls-Royce and the U.K. Space Agency state that the micro-reactor program will help to "develop technology that will provide power needed for humans to live and work on the moon." 

Related: Rolls-Royce unveils early-stage design for space nuclear reactor

Artist's illustration of a Rolls-Royce microreactor on the moon.

Artist's illustration of a Rolls-Royce microreactor on the moon. (Image credit: Rolls-Royce Holdings)

The continuing research will focus on three critical aspects of the micro-reactor: generating heat, transferring that heat and converting that heat into usable energy. 

"This innovative research by Rolls-Royce could lay the groundwork for powering continuous human presence on the moon," Paul Bate, chief executive of the U.K. Space Agency, said in the press release.

There is also the matter of outfitting the micro-reactor to operate in the lunar environment. Currently, a majority of space travel is powered by solar energy. A nuclear power source allows for more versatility in missions, and less reliance on the sun. 

Related stories:

— How a small nuclear reactor could power a colony on Mars or beyond (op-ed)

— Where will NASA set up its moon base?

— NASA's Artemis moon program: Everything you need to know

To help Rolls-Royce scientists and engineers, the company has partnered with the University of Oxford, University of Bangor, University of Brighton, the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and Nuclear AMRC. 

"Partnerships like this, between British industry, the U.K. Space Agency and government, are helping to create jobs across our £16 billion space tech sector and help ensure the U.K. continues to be a major force in frontier science," George Freeman, Minister of State at the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, said in the March 17 press release.

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Josh Dinner
Josh Dinner
Writer, Content Manager

Josh Dinner is Space.com's Content Manager. He is a writer and photographer with a passion for science and space exploration, and has been working the space beat since 2016. Josh has covered the evolution of NASA's commercial spaceflight partnerships, from early Dragon and Cygnus cargo missions to the ongoing development and launches of crewed missions from the Space Coast, as well as NASA science missions and more. He also enjoys building 1:144 scale models of rockets and human-flown spacecraft. Find some of Josh's launch photography on Instagram and his website, and follow him on Twitter, where he mostly posts in haiku.

7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • jeffzoik
    Admin said:
    The U.K. Space Agency has decided to continue funding a project by Rolls-Royce to create a small nuclear-powered reactor that could serve as a long-term energy source for lunar bases.

    Rolls-Royce gets funding to develop miniature nuclear reactor for moon base : Read more
    What if it gets hit by a meteorite ? Keep the moon radiation free.
    Reply
  • Mike B
    Is it a fission reactor? Or could it be a Helium 3 Fusion rector?
    See paragraph on aw materials in this article.
    https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/do-we-really-need-to-send-humans-into-space/
    Reply
  • smh70
    Didn't Kilopower already do this?
    Reply
  • magnoflux
    As I understand it, mini nuclear reactors circulate the hot radio active fuel solution around an entombed heat exchanger from which the steam produced can drive a turbine/alternator.
    Luckily, UK still has plenty of old nuclear stations where these could be installed as well as on the moon.
    Reply
  • bwana4swahili
    How about developing a small, portable nuclear power station for Earth!?
    Reply
  • Ken Fabian
    Mike B said:
    Is it a fission reactor? Or could it be a Helium 3 Fusion rector?
    See paragraph on aw materials in this article.
    https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/do-we-really-need-to-send-humans-into-space/
    There are no actual attempts to do Helium 3 fusion - it is purely hypothetical and a lot more difficult than deuterium/tritium fusion. And that is still a long way from viable.

    If it did work we wouldn't get the Helium from the moon, we would make it - and probably have seen significant improvements and innovations in the ways to make it by then.
    Reply
  • Ken Fabian
    bwana4swahili said:
    How about developing a small, portable nuclear power station for Earth!?
    They are too expensive, by a large margin. Nuscale recently got approvals for it's SMR's but they are very high cost. Wind and solar make up 2/3 of new electricity capacity being built around the world because they are so cost competitive, not out of great commitment to clean "green" energy.
    Reply