Rosatom proposes to build nuclear power plants on the Moon

Rosatom scientists propose to build low-power nuclear power plants on the Moon that can operate autonomously for at least 10 years.

This was reported by Valery Yefremov, chief designer of the Russian Federal Nuclear Center of the All-Russian Research Institute of Technical Physics (RFNC-VNIIEF), a Rosatom enterprise located in Sarov, Nizhny Novgorod Region.

"We have now submitted to the Lavochkin Scientific and Production Union (Roscosmos enterprise) an initiative for the development of low-power nuclear power plants based on RTGs, which are radioisotope thermoelectric generators that convert the fission energy of radioactive isotopes into electrical energy. We estimate that the creation of such a station will ensure autonomous operation for at least ten years in lunar conditions and, accordingly, will be used in the preparation of the infrastructure for a fully equipped nuclear reactor on the Moon. will be done," the scientist said in Vesti.

RTG (radioisotope thermoelectric generator) is a radioisotope energy source that uses the thermal energy released during the natural decay of radioactive isotopes and converts it into electrical energy using a thermoelectric generator. Compared to chain reaction nuclear reactors, the RTG is much smaller and simpler in design. Its output power is quite low, up to a few hundred watts, with low efficiency. But such a generator has no moving parts and does not require any maintenance during the entire service life, which can last for decades.