[PLUG-TALK] Build nuclear power plants on the moon.

[Michael Robinson]

How feasible is it to build a nuclear power plant, send it 
to the moon, fire it up, and beam power back to Earth or
to a space station?

If nuclear fuel can be found on the moon and recovered, 
that's is one less thing that has to be sent from Earth.

I'm thinking a pebble bed reactor is the way to go.  I am very
impressed with them.  I doubt there is a source of graphite on 
the moon though, so the pebbles unfortunately will have to be 
manufactured here on Earth.  Still, how much do individual 
pebbles weigh and how much power does 1 pebble produce?  I
understand that the pebbles are non radioactive until they
are reacted in the reactor.

People say no nukes in space, but the Russians have been 
launching nuclear satellites for years.

It takes a week or does it take two weeks to reach the moon?
If a radio signal can travel to a probe en route to Mars, it
seems plausible to beam power from the moon down to the earth.

I guess a nuclear satellite orbiting the moon is another 
option, but the orbit is likely to decay over time.

People say no nuclear plants on the earth because of fears
they have and the waste that is produced.  Okay, put the
plant on the moon and leave the waste at the plant site.
Or, load up the waste and send it to Mercury, a planet
that noone will ever set foot on.