The US Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) wants to exploit the potential of nuclear energy in outer space Space.com. The organization’s mission is to prepare the military for the use of emerging commercial products.
The group announced two prototype contracts on May 17, aimed at demonstrating the propulsion and nuclear power capabilities of next-generation spacecraft.
They have contracted with two companies, Ultra Safe Nuclear and Avalanche Energy. Each company will build a small nuclear-powered spacecraft that will be tested between the Earth and the Moon.
The United States is increasingly focusing on its ability to control this region of space. DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) also wants to create a nuclear-powered spacecraft, a nuclear-powered nuclear missile that will be deployed in lunar space.
Ultra-safe nuclear power will make EmberCore, a radioactive isotope nuclear battery. Avalanche Energy will work with Orbitron to develop a system in which ions are trapped in electrostatic fields using a magnetron to keep electrons closer to their nucleus.
