UK Gov't To Provide Rolls-Royce With $3.5Mln For Creation Of Lunar Base Nuclear Reactor

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th March, 2023) British company Rolls-Royce said on Friday it would receive funding worth 2.9 million Pounds ($3.4 million) from the UK Space Agency for the creation of a modular nuclear reactor that might be used to supply energy to a future lunar base.

"The UK Space Agency has announced �2.9 million of new funding for the project which will deliver an initial demonstration of a UK lunar modular nuclear reactor," the company's statement read.

The micro-reactor program is designed to increase the duration of future lunar missions and their scientific significance, Rolls-Royce said, adding that it planned to have a reactor ready to be sent to the Moon by 2029.

"This innovative research by Rolls-Royce could lay the groundwork for powering continuous human presence on the Moon, while enhancing the wider UK space sector, creating jobs and generating further investment," Paul Bate, the chief executive of the UK Space Agency, was quoted in the statement as saying.

The current investment follows a tranche of 249,000 pounds allocated by the agency for nuclear explorations by the luxury-car manufacturer in 2022, the statement read.

In February 2023, the UK Space Agency announced over 50 million pounds for British companies to develop communication and navigation services for lunar missions as part of the European Space Agency's Moonlight program scheduled to start in 2028.