Nuclear reactor to power Mars settlers

Nuclear power is considered by NASA as the best solution to provide energy for the first settlers on Mars.

Nuclear reactors on Mars. Graphics: NASA.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)installed multiple reactorsnuclear fissionnearly 2 m highin a $14 million project to test power supplies for a planned settlement on Mars.,MirrorJuly 3 news.

The first settlers on Mars needed electricity to generate oxygen, water, light, heat, and fuel their vehicles and scientific equipment.Each reactor splits uranium atoms in two to create ra 10 kw electricity, enough for two people.In a 2008 study, NASA estimated that an eight-person expedition would require 40 kilowatts of electricity.

This is not the first time NASA has experimented with nuclear reactors in space. In the 1960s, NASA developed radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) as part of the SNAP program. The Curiosity rover exploring Mars also uses an RTG to generate power.

Installing a power source would be a crucial step in the ambition to send humans to Mars. Mars’ distance from the sun and its dust storms make fission reactors a better energy solution than solar panels.

According to VNE