The Britain finances a lunar nuclear reactor

The British government has commissioned Rolls-Royce to develop a nuclear reactor that could one day power a lunar base as part of a US-led mission to house humans on the moon. The UK Space Agency has awarded £2.9 million ($3.5 million) to the British engineering firm to build a prototype, which is expected to be ready by 2029. The UK has never launched a crewed space flight of its own, and no Briton has ever walked on the surface of the Moon. NASA plans on returning humans to the Moon in 2025, but the program is already five years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. Britain will play a supporting role to this mission, with UK companies developing communications, navigation, and refueling technology for the Artemis program.

Meanwhile, the first new nuclear reactor in the UK in 30 years was delivered to the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station last month, but the plant has cost 50% more than anticipated and is currently scheduled to open in 2027, two years later than planned. All but one of Britain's eight nuclear plants are scheduled to close by 2028, although Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said this week that the government would classify nuclear power as "sustainable" in a bid to circumvent the UK's own environmental rules and build new reactors.