Rolls-Royce plan to put nuclear reactor on moon

Better known for using nuclear power to sustain submarines deep below the ocean surface, Rolls-Royce has set its sights a lot higher. The British company has received government funding to develop a micro-reactor to power a base on the moon.

Although the use of clean, almost unlimited nuclear fusion power in space has long captured the imagination in sci-fi novels and TV shows, the lunar reactor would use existing fission power.

The hope is that nuclear power could substantially increase the time humans can spend on the moon. The reactor would also be lighter and smaller than alternative power sources. However, unlike fusion, fission creates radioactive waste.

Rolls-Royce, whose new chief executive, Tufan Erginbilgic, has described its financial performance as “unsustainable”, signed an agreement with [sic]

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