NASA's Compact Nuclear Reactors Could Power Colonies On Mars
BBC Knowledge|April 2018

IF humans are ever to build colonies on the Moon or on Mars, we are going to need a reliable way of powering essentials such as lighting, water and oxygen supply – not to mention a means of producing fuel for the long schlep home.

NASA's Compact Nuclear Reactors Could Power Colonies On Mars

Enter Kilopower, NASA’s pioneering compact nuclear fission reactor currently being put through its paces at the space agency’s Nevada National Security Site (NNSS).

The prototype power system was designed and developed by NASA’s Glenn Research Center in collaboration with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

This story is from the April 2018 edition of BBC Knowledge.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the April 2018 edition of BBC Knowledge.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM BBC KNOWLEDGEView All
Are We Close To Making Our Home Away From Earth?
BBC Knowledge

Are We Close To Making Our Home Away From Earth?

Our exploration of the cosmos is hampered by our bodies and minds, which struggle in space. So could we ever overcome our Biology and settle among the stars?

time-read
10 mins  |
August 2017
Snapshots
BBC Knowledge

Snapshots

This blue and white harlequin shrimp was snapped

time-read
2 mins  |
June 2017
Tragedy On The Matterhorn
BBC Knowledge

Tragedy On The Matterhorn

The conquest of the last great Alpine peak in 1865 should have been a triumph, but instead ended in the deaths of four climbers. Peter H Hansen examines its impact on attitudes to mountaineers

time-read
6 mins  |
October 2017
Lake Of Giants
BBC Knowledge

Lake Of Giants

In the Peruvian Amazon, a family of giant otters fends off hundreds of caiman to dominate a lake. Only through teamwork and guile can they beat their reptilian rivals, says PHILIPPA FORRESTER.

time-read
7 mins  |
October 2017
The Transformation Of Indra
BBC Knowledge

The Transformation Of Indra

Indra is within us, writes mythology expert DEVDUTT PATTANAIK, as he traces the changing perceptions of the god, in the first of a series on Indian mythologies history Indian Mythology

time-read
6 mins  |
October 2017
Cockatoos Got Rhythm
BBC Knowledge

Cockatoos Got Rhythm

Birds might generally be better known for their singing, but new research carried out by Prof Rob Heinsohn from the Australian National University (ANU) has proved they can also be a dab hand on the drums.

time-read
1 min  |
October 2017
Computational Origami Takes A Big Leap Forward
BBC Knowledge

Computational Origami Takes A Big Leap Forward

An MIT professor of computer science and an assistant professor in civil engineering at the University of Tokyo have joined forces to come up with a better way of… making paper rabbits.

time-read
1 min  |
October 2017
Questions at theFrontiersof..Probability
BBC Knowledge

Questions at theFrontiersof..Probability

It’s not all about tossing countless coins and rolling dice, says Robert Matthews. Probability researchers are also working on ways to unravel the secrets of the universe

time-read
5 mins  |
August 2016
ARevealing History of Underwear
BBC Knowledge

ARevealing History of Underwear

From riotously colourful corsets and ‘virile’ Y-fronts to punk-rock leggings, underwear has long possessed a rare ability to push creative boundaries and spark moral outrage. Edwina Ehrman, curator of a new Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition, introduces Spencer Mizen to seven of the most influential designs of the past 300 years

time-read
6 mins  |
August 2016
King Of The Mountains
BBC Knowledge

King Of The Mountains

Picture a primate that grazes like a cow, climbs cliffs like a mountain goat and forms groups as big as shoals of fish. Noah Snyder-Mackler introduces Ethiopia’s gelada.

time-read
7 mins  |
December 2016