<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Scientists have developed an energy source which could allow astronauts to live on the Moon for long periods of time.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The Nasa-led Artemis Program hopes for an outpost on the Moon by around 2030.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangor University has designed nuclear fuel cells, the size of poppy seeds, to produce the energy needed to sustain life there.</div><div>Prof Simon Middleburgh from the university said the work was a challenge - "but it was a fun one".</div><div><br></div><div>The Moon, which is seen by some to be the gateway to Mars, contains a lot of valuable resources needed for modern technology.</div><div><br></div><div>The hope is that it could be used as a springboard to reach the planets beyond.</div><div><br></div><div>As space technology advances at a rapid pace, the BBC was given exclusive access to the Bangor University Nuclear Futures Institute's laboratory.</div><div><br></div><div>The Bangor team, which is a world leader on fuels, works with partners such as Rolls Royce, the UK Space Agency, Nasa and the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the US.</div><div><br></div><div>Prof Middleburgh from the Nuclear Futures Institute said the team hoped to fully test the nuclear fuel "over the next few months".</div><div><br></div><div>On parts of the Moon, temperatures plummet to astonishing lows of -414F (-248C) because it has no atmosphere to warm up the surface.</div><div><br></div><div>Bangor University is a major player in the quest to generate another way of producing energy and heat to sustain life on the planet.</div><div><br></div><div>The researchers have just sent the tiny nuclear fuel cell, known as a Trisofuel, to their partners for testing.</div><div><br></div><div>This Trisofuel cell could be used to power a micro nuclear generator, created by Rolls Royce.</div><div><br></div><div>The generator is a portable device, the size of a small car and "something you can stick on a rocket," Prof Middleburgh said.</div><div><br></div><div>That will now be fully tested and put through forces similar to being blasted up into space, ready for a Moon base in 2030.</div><div><br></div><div>He added: "You can launch them into space, with all the forces… and they'll still function quite safely when they're put onto the Moon."</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier this month, India made a historic landing near the Moon's south pole with its robotic probe Chandrayaan-3.</div><div><br></div><div>One of the mission's major goals is to hunt for water-based ice which, scientists say, could support human habitation on the Moon in future.</div><div><br></div><div>Prof Middleburgh said Bangor University's work was putting Wales on the map.</div><div><br></div><div>"I would say that we're really pushing things [globally]," he said.</div><div><br></div><div>The university hopes the micro generators could also be used here on Earth, such as in disaster zones when electricity has been cut off.</div><div><br></div><div>The team at Bangor is also working on a nuclear system to power rockets, led by Dr Phylis Makurunje.</div><div><br></div><div>She said: "It is very powerful - it gives very high thrust, the push it gives to the rocket.</div><div><br></div><div>"This is very important because it enables rockets to reach the farthest planets."</div><div><br></div><div>Dr Makurunje said the new technology could almost halve the time it takes to get to Mars.</div><div><br></div><div>"With nuclear thermal propulsion - you're looking at about four to six months getting to Mars. The current duration is nine months plus," she said.</div><div><br></div><div>Moon bases in the 2030s</div><div><br></div><div>The geopolitical author and journalist, Tim Marshall, said the breakthrough over fuel was a step towards a global race to the lunar south pole.</div><div><br></div><div>He said: "I'm confident there will be moon bases in the 2030s. Probably a Chinese one; probably an American-led one. "I'm confident because I don't think that major powers can afford not to be there just in case this is, what is likely to be, a massive breakthrough.&nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>"So the Chinese are talking about 2028, putting the first brick down, probably symbolically to say they were the first one. But by the early 2030s, both will have a base.</div><div><br></div><div>"It's thought there is titanium, lithium, silicon, iron, and many other minerals which are used for all sorts of 21st Century technologies.</div><div><br></div><div>"The actual amount is unknown... but most companies are confident that it's enough to make it economically viable."</div><div><br></div><div>He warned things could become complicated as space is commercialised, citing outdated space laws.</div><div><br></div><div>"The rules of the road, such as they are, were written in 1967 - the Outer Space Treaty.</div><div><br></div><div>"It's still a template but it's 50 years out of date because it didn't know about modern technology, the competition that's out there and the commercial aspects - because then it was very much state-led.</div><div><br></div><div>"So without updated laws, agreed by the United Nations, it is a little bit of a free-for-all for everybody - and that brings dangers.</div><div><br></div><div>"Because if you haven't got the guidelines within which to operate, then the clear competition that will happen is operating without a legal framework." - BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>