Nasa wants to send nuclear power station to the Moon

If anyone has a good idea about how to put a nuclear fission power plant on the Moon, the US Government wants to hear about it.

Nasa and the US Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory have put out a request for proposals for a fission surface power system for missions to the Moon by the end of the decade.

Submitted plans for the system, which would be built on Earth, say it should fit inside a cylinder four metres in diameter and 6m long, and not weigh more than six tonnes. It should provide at least 40 kilowatts of continuous electric power for 10 years, be transportable, and be capable of turning itself off and on without human help.