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How can they talk about lunar power without mentioning nuclear? It's dark for 14 days!
by mLuby 4y ago
How can they talk about lunar power without mentioning nuclear? It's dark for 14 days!
- boringg 4y agoThe level of complication to add nuclear to the moon would be an order of magnitude more challenging and very expensive.
- qayxc 4y agoAre you sure about that? Thermo-electric solutions are practically maintenance free, ultra-reliable, and mature technology. Even using a simple Stirling enginelike in NASA's Kilopower [0] project isn't super challenging expensive compared to battery solutions or power relays (e.g. from the lunar south pole or satellites). I see no reason why nuclear power wouldn't be a viable and very competitive (or even essential) part of lunar exploration. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilopower https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilopower
- edgyquant 4y agoThey may be talking about political complications
- vorpalhex 4y agoWe use RTGs now in space...
- questiondev 4y agocan they redirect the light beams using solar mirrors that orbit the moon somehow? kinda like a light redirection satellite? technically speaking if there is enough panels and enough wiring to build a grid it could work. the energy would just have to travel via cables once harvested
- SkyMarshal 4y agoI wonder what would be better in that case, redirecting light around to the dark side of the moon, or satellites that collect light, convert it to electricity, then beam it down to the moon as microwaves.
- totetsu 4y agoWell they all also mention wind turbines..
- ceejayoz 4y agohttps://sservi.nasa.gov/articles/selene-data-suggests-no-perpetual-sunlight-on-lunar-poles/ https://sservi.nasa.gov/articles/selene-data-suggests-no-per... > The area with the highest incidence of sunlight was 89% at the north pole, followed by 86% at the south pole, equating to 324 and 314 days of sunlight a year, respectively. There were also many areas around crater rims where the yearly percentage of sunlight was at least 80%. The existence of polar areas believed to be in permanent shadow was confirmed by the survey. They'll be fine with some batteries, and the poles are already prime spots due to permanently shadowed craters holding ice.
- mLuby 4y agoInstalling mission-critical equipment on a peak of eternal light could be risky.
- ceejayoz 4y agoActually, no. (Well, everything on the Moon is risky, to some extent.) Placing it there protects it from the severe temperature swings between 120°C and -130°C you'd get in a day/night cycle. (Or, put solar panels on various redundant high points; different bits of the poles get their 80% at different times. Run cables to the base.)
- mLuby 4y agoGood point about the temp swings. I just meant physically moving and installing the equipment plus running cables from the flat landing site up the slope.