While Germany is phasing out nuclear power, it is booming in many countries around the world. The USA has now confirmed plans to even use the technology on the moon. Mini nuclear power plants are to reliably supply future moon and Mars missions with sufficient energy. A tender by NASA and the US Department of Energy for the moon project is currently underway – 22 companies are said to have applied. At the beginning of 2021, there is to be another tender for reactor technology. The timetable is sporty: the first experimental reactor is to be put into operation on the Earth’s satellite as early as 2026.

According to experts, nuclear power is indispensable for missions in the solar system: although solar panels provide disaster-proof electricity. But on Mars, dust storms that eclipse the sun could last for weeks or even months. On the Moon, the 14-day nights pose a problem for the energy supply. At the poles of the Earth’s companion, solar radiation varies greatly and in the sometimes huge craters it is completely absent. “Small nuclear reactors offer a lightweight, reliable and efficient solution,” said Anthony Calomino, who is in charge of nuclear technology at the US space agency NASA, according to a report on the CNBC television channel. The companies and consortia involved in the project are now expected to have a space transporter, a landing capsule and a reactor including a generator ready for launch by 2026. According to the project plans, the two together with all accessories should weigh no more than 3.5 tonnes and deliver an output of ten kilowatts. That is roughly equivalent to the electricity needs of five to eight large households.