Africa-Press – Rwanda. Leading the charge in a new generation of lunar exploration has been the China National Space Administration (CNSA), which has dispatched several probes to the moon from its Chang’e series. They have explored the far side of the moon and sent back the first lunar soil samples in 40 years.
The Chinese space program is working on a new type of nuclear power plant to be used to power a permanent base on the moon, which China hopes to build before the decade is out, the head of China’s lunar exploration effort told Chinese media on Tuesday.
However, a necessary step is to first develop a new type of nuclear power plant that can operate on the lunar surface, which is beset by temperature extremes, endangered by meteor strikes, and has no water for cooling.
He didn’t give further details, but past reports have suggested the plant will be able to produce 1 megawatt of power, which is about 100 times more than the 1-kilowatt reactor US space agency NASA plans to make with its own lunar nuclear reactor.
Numerous other spacecraft, including deep space probes, have used the heat generated by the decay of radioactive elements to keep their circuits warm, or to create tiny amounts of electricity via other means. Other spacecraft and probes have used solar panels or chemical fuel to generate power.
The new base will reportedly be built near the moon’s south pole, providing it with constant sunlight and a unique vantage point. The moon rotates at the same speed it orbits the Earth, resulting in one side always facing the Earth’s surface and the other always facing away, and a two-week-long day and equally long night. Wu said the outpost will include landers, rovers, reusable ascenders and in-orbit craft.
Other nations also have their sights set on lunar exploration. NASA’s Artemis 1 mission sent the Orion capsule into lunar orbit earlier this month, with the spacecraft zipping just 81 miles over the lunar surface on Monday. Artemis 2 will see human astronauts orbit the moon, and Artemis 3 is expected to carry humans to the moon for the first time since 1972.
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