NASA , Awards Contracts for Lunar, Fission Power Designs.<br />On June 21, NASA announced that three suppliers had <br />been contracted to provide concept designs for <br />a nuclear fission energy system to be used on the moon.<br />On June 21, NASA announced that three suppliers had <br />been contracted to provide concept designs for <br />a nuclear fission energy system to be used on the moon.<br />The contracts were <br />awarded to Lockheed Martin, <br />Westinghouse and IX. .<br />TechCrunch reports that each of the companies <br />will each receive approximately <br />$5 million for developing the designs.<br />Those companies will reportedly work <br />with partners to develop "initial concepts" <br />to be submitted to NASA.<br />The project, a partnership between NASA <br />and the Department of Energy (DOE), <br />is expected to take about 12 months.<br />The designs include a 40-kilowatt power <br />generator capable of operating at that <br />capacity for at least a decade.<br />TechCrunch points out that the small generators could help solve some of the challenges NASA faces in setting up a prolonged presence on the moon.<br />NASA's Artemis program looks to return humans to the moon for the first time in decades and establish a permanent outpost on our largest natural satellite.<br />According to NASA, the fission generator <br />project could also have implications <br />for deep space exploration.<br />The generators developed through <br />this contract could be applied to new propulsion <br />systems used in long-range spacecraft
