Rolls-Royce’s bid to put a nuclear reactor on the moon receives funding from UK Space Agency

The United States, Japan, and China are among the nations vying to send astronauts to the moon as soon as possible in a worldwide competition to do so. But in order for astronauts to have a place to live and work, infrastructure is required.

To that end, the UK Space Agency today announced funding for Rolls-Royce to construct a nuclear reactor that would serve as the foundation for a future lunar base. The UK Space Agency has now donated £2.9 billion (about $3.52 billion), following the £249,000 (about $302,000) it gave Rolls-Royce for its preliminary research last year.

A nuclear micro-reactor is being developed by engineers and scientists at Rolls-Royce because of its small size and capacity to run wherever there is sunshine. Rolls-Royce currently projects that the microreactor will go to the moon in 2029.

Only two days had passed since NASA and AXIOM Space unveiled the new prototype spacesuit for Artemis III, which humans would use to land on the moon. According to current plans, NASA wants to launch the Artemis III mission in December 2025. On the surface of the moon, NASA also intends to establish a base camp.

We’ll probably witness more development in the upcoming ten years in all areas related to lunar travel. The UK Space Agency made $51 million ($61.89 million) available to UK businesses last month to help them develop the communication and navigational technologies that would be used on upcoming lunar missions. The project is a part of the European Space Agency’s effort to put satellites in orbit around the moon to help future rovers and astronauts with communication and safety.