Collaboration aims for heat and power during lunar nights

To this end, Leicester University and ispace EUROPE in Luxembourg, have entered into a strategic consulting agreement to explore lunar night survivability utilising Radioisotope Heater Units on iSpace’s Series 3 lunar lander and rovers.

The university was awarded funding under Phase I and Phase II of the UK International Bilateral Fund to create mission concepts leveraging the technology on future missions.

Conditions on the Moon can see temperatures falling to minus 170°C during the two-week-long lunar nights, when sunlight does not warm the surface. To realise long-term missions, new technology and systems are required to survive the cryogenic environment of lunar night.

For over a decade, the Space Nuclear Power group at Leicester University has been developing radioisotope power systems that use the heat generated from the decay of radioisotopes to provide heat to spacecraft or convert it to electricity to power subsystems.

The technology development has been funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) European Devices Using Radioisotope Energy (ENDURE) program, which has been supported by the UK Space Agency.

In a statement, project lead Dr Hannah Sargeant from Leicester University’s School of Physics and Astronomy and Space Park Leicester said: “The radioisotope power technology that has been developed at Leicester University, in conjunction with National Nuclear Laboratory, is performing extremely well in our ongoing testing campaigns.

“The first phase of UKSA International Bilateral Funding was used to work with our international partners to understand their power needs and mission priorities. In Phase 2, we will be conducting both laboratory and concept studies to demonstrate the feasibility of the mission concepts. It will also provide an opportunity to highlight the technology to the civil and commercial space industry and show how it could be used to meet critical power needs for priority missions.”

Ispace, a lunar exploration company headquartered in Japan, is currently in an advanced design and development phase for the Series 3 lander with partial funding from a Japanese government Small Business Innovation & Research grant. In addition to the lunar Radioisotope Heater Units, ispace is in discussions with several entities to transport payloads to lunar orbit and the surface on future missions.

The company said it is leveraging its global presence through its three business units in Japan, the US, and Luxembourg, for the simultaneous development of Mission 2, currently planned to be launched in 2024, led by its Japanese facility, as well as Mission 3, currently planned to be launched in 2026 and led by its US entity, and Mission 6, which will utilise the Series 3 lander and is scheduled to be launched by 2027.