China is developing its nuclear reactor for the lunar base 100 times more powerful than the American

According to Chinese sources, China is developing its own nuclear reactor as part of its own space exploration program. So if the Americans announced a competition for the development of a 10 kW reactor, then Chinese specialists plan to create a 1 MW reactor.

Unfortunately, there are no details on the nuclear reactor program for space, and this is actually a little worrisome, and here's why.

What is known about the Chinese reactor

According to some publications in local media, the technical design of the Chinese reactor for use in future space missions is almost completely ready.

So, according to known information, the temperature in the reactor core will be a maximum of 2000 degrees Celsius (this is higher than that of modern operating reactor facilities).

The "umbrella" system of radiators will be used as a heat sink, and the lithium melt or its salt will act as a heat carrier.

It is likely that the Chinese reactor will also be modular in order to simplify assembly. installations outside the comfortable terrestrial conditions, and it will be much easier to deliver the disassembled reactor and cheaper.

Why nuclear reactors in space are such a concern for specialists

In fact, the idea of ​​using nuclear reactors in space is not new, and in the recent past both the USSR and the Western world had experience of using such installations.

For example, in 1978 the Soviet spacecraft "Kosmos-954" collapsed over the territory of Canada (over the northern part of the country). This fact provoked the contamination of radioactive elements with a total area exceeding 100,000 square kilometers.

The fact that radioactive elements mainly scattered over unpopulated areas, but still the USSR was forced to spend significant funds on cleaning territory.

This is one of the reasons why the peaceful atom is not used in space. But all the experts admit that at this stage of technology development, the construction and development of other celestial bodies in the solar system without the use of nuclear reactors is simply impossible.

Well, we will keep an eye on how the development of new atomic installations for future space missions will be carried out, and there remains the hope that during this race the specialists will not forget about safety.

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