According to a report by The Telegraph, Rolls-Royce Holdings has paused its taxpayer backed plan to develop a small nuclear reactor for the Moon, putting a once high profile space power project on hold after government contracts expired and potential partners failed to materialize.
The engineering giant had been working with the UK Space Agency and previously received £9 million in public funding to design a compact “micro reactor” that could provide reliable electricity on the lunar surface. At the time, executives spoke confidently about sending the system to the Moon by 2029 and were actively searching for launch partners in the United States.
Now, those ambitions have stalled. With contracts running out last summer and no clear commercial or government backers stepping in, the programme has effectively been frozen. People familiar with the matter say Rolls-Royce is open to restarting work, but only if new funding and partnerships can be secured.
The original idea addressed one of the biggest challenges of long term lunar exploration. Solar power, while abundant during the day, becomes useless during the Moon’s 14 day long nights. A small nuclear reactor could provide constant, dependable energy for habitats, research stations, and life support systems, something many experts see as essential for any sustained human presence.
When the project was first unveiled, officials described it as a way to help the UK remain competitive in frontier science and advanced engineering. Rolls-Royce also argued that the technology could have spin off benefits back on Earth, particularly in the growing market for small modular reactors.
Ironically, interest in space based nuclear power has not disappeared globally. NASA and the United States Department of Energy are moving ahead with plans to send a nuclear fission module to the Moon later this decade to power a future American base. However, bidding for that work is expected to be limited largely to US companies, shutting out foreign competitors.
That leaves British efforts in a difficult position. Without access to American contracts and lacking fresh domestic funding, the business case becomes harder to justify.
For now, Rolls-Royce’s lunar reactor remains an intriguing “what if” rather than a near term mission. The pause highlights a broader reality of space infrastructure. Even promising technology needs sustained political backing and deep pockets to escape the drawing board and actually make it off the planet.
