Nuclear reactors can go to Mars

The first people to set foot on Mars will need nuclear power to survive on the red planet, US scientists say.

Public opinion in many countries around the world is opposing atomic energy after the crisis at Japan's Fukushima I nuclear power plant. But in the space conquest, nuclear energy can help people survive on other planets.

Popular Science said that in the plenary meeting of the American Chemical Society in late August, experts believe that humans need nuclear reactors to conquer the universe in the future. However, the nuclear reactors that people bring to space will be so small that we can wear them on our backs.

James E. Werner, director of the US Department of Energy's National Laboratory, says that the reactors that humans carry out of the world will generate electricity through nuclear fission (also known as feces). atomic decay). That kind of reaction causes the atomic nucleus to split into two or more smaller nuclei and several other by-products (such as gamma rays, alpha rays, neutrons, photons).

The first astronauts on Mars could wear mini reactors on their backs. ( Photo: Discovery)

Werner describes that the backbone nuclear fission reactor his laboratory wants to build will be about 30cm wide, 60cm tall - the size of a portable suitcase. Of course, they will not have cooling systems like nuclear reactors in power plants.

For those who first set foot on the red planet, a continuous and independent energy source is an extremely important factor for them to survive. Electricity from nuclear reactors will be used in a variety of tasks: separation and re-processing of water, cultivation and preservation of food, oxygen production, lighting, garbage disposal.

Nuclear fission reactors play a small role in current space research activities. Russia produces more than 30 kilns, while the US produces only one. All of them are used to power artificial satellites.