NASA developing fission power technology

CLEVELAND, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency says it's exploring the possibility of using nuclear fission to provide power for astronauts who establish a lunar outpost.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said its engineers are also working toward creating a non-nuclear technology demonstration of such a system.

NASA scientists said a fission surface power system on the moon would work by splitting uranium atoms in a reactor to generate heat that is then converted into electric power.

"Our goal is to build a technology demonstration unit with all the major components of a fission surface power system and conduct non-nuclear, integrated system testing in a ground-based space simulation facility," said Lee Mason, principal investigator for the project at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. "Our long-term goal is to demonstrate technical readiness early in the next decade, when NASA is expected to decide on the type of power system to be used on the lunar surface."

After a one-year design and analysis phase, NASA will select a single contractor to build and test a prototype power conversion unit.