this post was submitted on 14 Sep 2024
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[–] [email protected] 23 points 4 days ago

I'm sure that money couldn't be better spent. It's not like there are hundreds of millions of Indians living in horrific levels of poverty.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 days ago (11 children)

Of all the things to kick-start industry on another planet, isn't a nuclear fucking plant the most complex?

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 5 days ago (3 children)

Later:

Ukraine’s controversial but wildly successful fledgling domestic space program has successfully landed exo-atmospheric tactical drones on the moon and destroyed crucial construction components of Russia’s moon reactor facility, forcing many to question if it’s feasible to continue the project

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

Onion worthy

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (6 children)

It's to serve as a power source for a potential moon base, apparently.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago

Ohh, I was confused because I assumed the power would somehow be transported to Earth, which seems rather inefficient.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Considering India and China are nuclear armed geostrategic rivals, with ongoing territorial disputes, and not too distant history of hot wars, I think this type of cooperation can be a good thing.

But that's also why I'm skeptical about how much dual use technology they'd be willing to share with each other. And when you're talking about space travel, or moon bases, practically everything is dual use technology.

If anyone is unclear why Russia would be involved, it's their rocket and nuclear technology. Or rather, the Soviet legacy of R&D that is still useful.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 5 days ago (20 children)

how would you even start with the cooling? that sounds like a nightmare

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 days ago

... That's a very good point actually. Vacuums are rather insulating. Without convection cooling from a fluid, you're relying on radiative heat transfer for cooling, and that's piss poor.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 days ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 days ago

That's why it's a nuclear plant instead of a wind turbine /jk

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

If you have enough ice, you evaporate it.

If not, heat pump/ sink into basalt probably.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 days ago

I suspect you would dump the heat into the Moon itself. You wouldn't need that much power up there.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Only operate when your side of the moon is dark or even near the poles where it can be coldest? I'm not sure what the plan is for daytime operations since it apparently gets really hot.

No atmosphere up there to insulate so the temperatures fluctuate to extremes

[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 days ago (1 children)

No atmosphere means very little thermal radiation is pulled from radiators.

I imagine the best bet would be to drill into the surface of the moon and sink your radiators into the ground, fill the gaps with a material that transfers heat well.

Easiest version of that would probably be to lay the radiators on or just below the surface and bury them in a regolith concrete mixture of some sort. Probably not as efficient as drilling straight in, but way less complicated I imagine.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Unfortunately you can't really turn off a nuclear reactor.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

Russians: "Sure you can, it's just this red button right here..."

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 days ago

I'm not sure this is a great idea.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 days ago (2 children)

For what purpose??? Solar power makes the most sense on the moon. No atmosphere.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 days ago (4 children)

But it would require a stable power supply – which only a nuclear reactor can provide, as the Moon’s lengthy lunar nights make solar energy unreliable.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 days ago (6 children)

... why tho

That sounds like a maintenance nightmare.

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