Nuclear-powered 'flashlight' for lunar studies
The X-ray "flashlight" which would use an energy source based on nuclear chargeable ceramic technology to map the lunar surface has been selected for early-stage funding in the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) programme
The “flashlight” would use as an energy source the Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation’s (USNC) EmberCore nuclear chargeable ceramic technology. The Phase 1 study, titled EmberCore Flashlight: Long Distance Lunar Characterisation with Intense Passive X- and Gamma-ray Source, will be led by USNC Chief Engineer, Radioisotopes Chris Morrison, with support from co-investigator Thomas Prettyman of the Planetary Science Institute.
The "flashlight" will use a beam of X-rays and gamma rays that can travel over many kilometres, interact with the ground and then bounce back towards a sensor
The signal that is returned to the sensor provides an "elemental fingerprint" of information about the lunar surface and what lies beneath it. Backscattered gamma rays could be used to infer the presence of substances such as water.
Nuclear energy travels to the Moon
The X-ray flashlight will use EmberSource, which is based on a modified version of the EmberCore nuclear chargeable ceramic. This uses so-called “embers” made from commercially available, inert isotopes which have been charged with neutrons in a nuclear reactor.
By integrating EmberSource into a specially designed casing, X-rays that would normally be contained by shielding can instead be released through a controllable aperture. The X-rays produced by EmberSource would have a beam strength of a greater magnitude than any other previously deployed in space. Combined with the mobility of a rover, this would enable mapping of the composition of the lunar surface in greater detail than previously possible, USNC said.
The new capabilities provided by this technology could revolutionise lunar exploration by giving us the clearest picture we’ve ever had of what resources are available on the Moon, hopefully paving the way for a sustainable human presence there
The NIAC programme is designed to nurture visionary ideas that could transform future NASA missions, and the flashlight's capabilities for elemental composition analysis and operation in darkness are potentially game changing, Prettyman said.
The Phase 1 project is a 9-month concept feasibility study that will evaluate source parameters and possible mission architectures and will consider the development of an EmberSource X-Ray Flashlight intended to be used in two distinct locations on the Moon: Shackleton Crater and Mare Tranquillitatis, where it could be used to search for significant amounts of water and other volatile materials.
Source: World Nuclear News
