Nuclear reactors the size of wastebaskets could power our Martian settlements. Small, but mighty.

[rangerrebew]

Nuclear reactors the size of wastebaskets could power our Martian settlements
Small, but mighty.
By Mary Beth Griggs January 18, 2018
 

NASA

The cylinder of uranium is the size of a coffee can. Even with its shielding and detectors, the device is still no larger than a wastepaper basket. But this little prototype, soon to be tested in the Nevada desert, fuels a dream of an off-world future for humanity.

The Kilopower project, a joint venture between NASA and the Department of Energy, is set to be the first nuclear fission reactor to reach space since the SNAP 10A project in the 1960s. A prototype is in testing, which makes it closer to launch than any of the other projects that popped up in the intervening decades.

https://www.popsci.com/nuclear-reactors-mars

[dfwgator]

[sneakypete]

I guess it would maybe be essential on some planets,but surely any planet suitable for human life would get enough sun that a solar generator would be more practical and safer?

Granted,solar technology isn't that advanced yet,but it's coming.

[driftdiver]

Its not a new concept.  The russians had portable heaters the size of a paint can.   They'd carry those around instead of building a fire.

Yep a can filled with dirty radioactive material that generated its own heat.   what could go wrong