Power generation in space is usually done with the help of solar panels, but NASA now wants a lunar base and it needs some serious power that solar power just cannot provide. NASA wants to generate a steady 40 kilowatts of electric power, or enough for about eight houses on Earth. It will take a year to find a single contractor who will be selected to build and test a prototype power conversion unit. When complete, the power conversion unit will be integrated with the other technology demonstration unit's major components. A nuclear reactor used in space is much different from Earth-based systems. There are no large concrete cooling towers, and the reactor is about the size of an office trashcan. The energy produced from a space reactor also is much smaller but more than adequate for the projected power needs of a lunar outpost.

NASA's Nuclear lunar outpost will begin its contractor 'auditions' at Glenn in 2012 or 2013, after which they will be able to develop safe and reliable control methods, gain valuable operating experience, and reduce technology and programmatic risks.

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