ROLLS-ROYCE ON THE MOON

With the British car manufacturer shooting for the lunar surface, humankind could finally be ready to return by the 2030s

-  Nigel Watson

After a lull of over 50 years, the number of projects to take humans back to the Moon is escalating at a fast rate. This time, instead of one-off landing missions, these will be the first steps in building long-term Moon bases. An essential part of any Moon base will be a continuous and reliable source of power to run essential life-support systems, communications, lunar vehicles, workshops and scientific laboratories. A small nuclear reactor could meet many of these demands, and in 2022 the UK Space Agency funded a £249,000 ($310,510) study into the feasibility of designing and building one by Rolls-Royce. The agency has now provided a further £2.9 million ($3.6 million) of funding to deliver an initial demonstration of a UK lunar modular nuclear reactor. ”Space exploration is the ultimate laboratory for so many of the transformational technologies we need on Earth: from materials to robotics, nutrition, clean technology and much more,” says Minister of State in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology George Freeman. “As we prepare to see humans return to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years, we’re backing exciting research like this lunar modular reactor with RollsRoyce to pioneer new power sources for a lunar base. Partnerships like this between British industry, the UK Space Agency and government are helping create jobs across our space technology sector and help ensure the UK continues to be a major force in frontier science.”