Scientists have created an energy source that would enable astronauts to spend a lot of time on the moon.
By about 2030, the NASA-led Artemis Program plans to establish a base on the moon.
Nuclear fuel cells the size of poppy seeds have been created at Bangor University to provide the energy required to support life.
The task was a challenge, but Prof. Simon Middleburgh of the institution remarked, “But it was a fun one.”
The Moon, which some believe to be the gateway to Mars, is home to many important resources required for modern civilization.
The idea is to use it as a launching pad to explore the other planets.
The tiny Trisofuel nuclear fuel cell, created by the researchers, has recently been delivered to its testing partners
The Bangor team, a leader in the field of fuels, works with organizations including Rolls Royce, the UK Space Agency, NASA, and the US’s Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Prof Middleburgh from the Nuclear Futures Institute said the team hoped to fully test the nuclear fuel “over the next few months”.
Because the Moon lacks an atmosphere to warm the surface, temperatures can reach astounding lows of -414F (-248C) in some areas.
A key player in the effort to develop a new method of generating energy and heat to sustain life there is Bangor University.
The tiny Trisofuel nuclear fuel cell, created by the researchers, has recently been delivered to its testing partners.
The Rolls Royce micro nuclear generator could be powered by this Trisofuel cell.
A portable gadget the size of a small vehicle, the generator is “something you can stick on a rocket,” according to Prof. Middleburgh.
That will now undergo a thorough testing process and be subjected to forces akin to being launched into space in preparation for a Moon base in 2030.
He added: “You can launch them into space, with all the forces… and they’ll still function quite safely when they’re put onto the Moon.”
Bangor University is hoping that the mini generators will also be useful on Earth
India’s robotic probe Chandrayaan-3 made a momentous landing close to the Moon’s south pole earlier this month.
The search for water-based ice, which could one day enable human habitation on the Moon, is one of the mission’s main objectives.
Prof Middleburgh said Bangor University’s work was putting Wales on the map.
“I would say that we’re really pushing things [globally],” he said.
The university is hoping that the mini generators will also be useful on Earth, perhaps in emergency situations where power has been cut off.
Dr. Phylis Makurunje’s team at Bangor is also developing a nuclear rocket propulsion technology.
She said: “It is very powerful – it gives very high thrust, the push it gives to the rocket.
“This is very important because it enables rockets to reach the farthest planets.”
Dr Makurunje said the new technology could almost halve the time it takes to get to Mars.
“With nuclear thermal propulsion – you’re looking at about four to six months getting to Mars. The current duration is nine months plus,” she said.
