This concept stipulates for building a small-module nuclear power unit on the Moon surface in the subpolar Peary crater with the cost of RUB 1.95 trn.
“We plan to perform all the work using robotic complexes operating on solar batteries and radioactive power supply. According to the preliminary estimates, it will take 54 days to build the NPP, and its service life will be about ten years. After that, nuclear units may be disposed to mitigate the damage of the Moon ecosystem, and their protective equipment may be re-used”, the University is citing the words of Vyacheslav Belov, the assistant professor.
The concept was developed within the general intellectual boom around the possibility of future construction of bases and colonies on the Moon and supplies of electricity, oxygen, water, food and other necessary resources to such colonies.
Russian scientists insist that NASA specialists are engaged in similar work, and have developed the concept of Kilopower nuclear power unit of the size of a suitcase capable of generating about 10-40 KW, enough for supplying energy to a small Moon base.
To protect the NPP from falling stones and micro meteorites, from temperature fluctuations and radiation, the scientists developed a specialized protective facility – a round shaft made of local soil and a Kevlar screen – a high-durability fracture-resistant fiber.
