Kilopower reactor

The Kilopower reactor project is a joint NASA and the US Department of Energy to collaborating to develop a new generation of nuclear generators using Uranium-235 , with a focus on crewed missions to Mars.

Kilopower: A Gateway to Abundant Power for Exploration

The Kilopower reactor will use active fission, or atom splitting, to drive piston-based Stirling converters, which are more efficient than RTGs, according to NASA. Kilopower will be able to produce 1 to 10 kilowatts of power, continuously, for 10 years or more.

Nuclear powered mining vehicles for use on the Moon or Mars

One very important use for a Kilopower size reactors will be for mining regolith to make structures on the Moon or Mars.

Elon Musk is working on Autonomous Electric vehicles including trucks through his company Tesla and also SpaceX is looking into Nuclear power, Elon Musk is also building tunneling Machines with his Boring Company whose technology will be very useful on Mars, all these products for a Mars base will need large power supplies that may well be suited to this type of nuclear power sources.

NASA vehicle with Kilopower

Base Support

On Mars/Moon production of In situ Oxygen and fuel and refining raw materials for building will require large power production.