Russia develops ?everlasting? compact thermonuclear reactors for space

The Kurchatov Institute, one of Russia?s leading nuclear RandD hub, and the state-owned Rosatom corporation are working on what some refer to as a ?thermonuclear battery? for space exploration.

The Kurchatov Institute, one of Russia?s leading nuclear R&D hubs, and Rosatom, the state-owned umbrella for nuclear energy developers across Russia, are working on what some refer to as a ?thermonuclear battery? for space exploration, Itword.org reports. The ?batteries? are a new generation of megawatt power atomic reactors to be used primarily in energy systems for space exploration. Today, nuclear fuel in experimental systems has to be refilled once every 18-24 months. Tapping into modern nanotechnology is said to increase the time interval to five years; but the Moscow researchers are trying to make it as long as 25 years. If they pull it off, the project will result in what could be called an ?everlasting battery?, powerful and compact, yet lasting enough to work for many years. Such thermonuclear systems could be used both for military and an array of civilian purposes. For example, advanced prototypes of such a battery could be used for interplanetary space missions...