INL seeks information for new space mission

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK)-Battelle Energy Alliance (BEA) is reaching out to leaders of the nuclear and space industries.  They want to develop innovative technologies for a fission surface power systems (FSP) that can be operated on the moon.

BEA wants to round up responses to its “Request for Information” by September 8, then issue a formal request for proposal.

The project is sponsored by NASA in collaboration with the Department of Energy and INL.   They want technologies and approaches to test and validate a FSP design that can be built and deployed on the moon.  It would also be used for subsequent missions, including Mars.

“Idaho National Laboratory has a central role in emphasizing the United States’ global leadership in nuclear innovation, with the anticipated demonstration of advanced reactors on the INL Site,” said Dr. John Wagner, associate laboratory director of INL’s Nuclear Science & Technology Directorate. “The prospect of deploying an advanced reactor to the lunar surface is as exciting as it is challenging, and partnering with the most forward-thinking companies in the private sector and national laboratory system will help us get there.”

For more information on the RFI, interested parties may contact Aaron Weston at aaron.weston@inl.gov.