NASA and the Idaho National Laboratory on Friday, November 19, announced a collection of ideas for the construction of a nuclear power plant on the Moon, which could become an energy source independent of the Sun for a permanent habitable station, reports LentaRu with reference to the Associated Press.

The Americans intend to build such a nuclear power plant on an Earth satellite by the end of the 2020s, the collection of ideas will be completed on February 19, 2022. The head of the project at the laboratory, Sebastian Corbiziero, stressed that reliable and powerful energy on the lunar surface would be an important step in human space exploration.

According to NASA, the stable presence of man on the moon will make it possible to set the next target - Mars. A nuclear reactor operating in the conditions of another planet can be reproduced, and in addition, it will lead to the development of technologies.

It is assumed that the reactor will be created on Earth, and then delivered to the Moon. The system will include a uranium-fueled reactor core, a system that converts heat to electricity, a heating control system and a distribution system. The power of the nuclear power plant must be at least 40 kilowatts for ten years.

The station must be switched on and off without human effort, operate aboard the lander, and be capable of transport. For the latter condition, it is prescribed that the reactor must fit into the parameters of a cylinder four meters high and six meters in diameter.