Scientists at the U. S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory have developed a small, safe nuclear reactor that could power bases or colonies on the Moon, Mars, or elsewhere. The reactor is about the size of a suitcase and would produce 40 kilowatts of power-- not terribly much, but more than NASA has available for space missions now, and enough to power an early base or small colony.
A model of the reactor will be built next year. If it works as well and as reliably as projected, this development could be a big step towards enabling eventual human settlement throughout the Solar System.
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