The Role of Nuclear Power in Space Exploration and the Associated Environmental Issues: An Overview

Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) / Exploration, Mining, Marketing, & Acquisitions

Date posted: 09/04/09

In 2005, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published a comprehensive review of the history and status of nuclear power used in space exploration. Based on this review and on our research, the objective of this report is to place some perspectives around the role nuclear power will likely play in the future, from developing and fueling the technology for use on Earth to developing the ability to explore for and to recover natural resources that likely await our discovery on the Moon or elsewhere in the Solar System, along with the environmental issues surrounding the use of nuclear power in space, near and far.