this post was submitted on 06 Mar 2024
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Because Russia has still a pretty good way of sending rockets to space. The bigger question would be, why you want to do this? And 2nd how would you cool this with no water on the moon
Some types of nuclear power don't work like what you are probably imagining.
Its more of a hockey puck of hot plutonium and a thermocouple, rather than a nuclear power plant on earth.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator
Doubt it. RTGs are great for a deep space probe, but too limited to support a base.
Probably more like:
Good point. Regardless, it will not be like a nuclear plant on earth.
Insightful, thanks !
The article specifically mentions that they don't know how to solve the cooling problem yet. That's what's cool about these types of projects though, they force innovation that can potentially be used elsewhere.
The cooling plan is cooking pancakes. Two birds with one stone.
Big radiators?
Filled with water from where?
Isn’t there water in the lunar regolith?
Earth, I assume. Could also be solid metal or filled with liquid sodium or something if it needs to circulate.
Sounds pretty costly to bring all that up
But yeah, solid metal as heat transfer could work. Still how to drive a turbine?
Could you skip the turbine and slap a bunch of peltier elements on the reactor?
Probably not super efficient, what with the vacuum of space being bad at absorbing hear, and if I recall right peltier produces more power the larger heat gradient.
There are a lot of seas on the Moon after all.