Wednesday, August 19, 2026
Firefly to fly Zeno Power's nuclear heater on a lunar lander
Firefly Aerospace and Zeno Power announced August 19 that a future Firefly Blue Ghost lunar lander mission, targeted no earlier than 2028, will carry a Zeno americium-241 radioisotope heating unit generating about 5 watts of thermal energy. The package is designed to keep electronics operational through the 14-day, minus-170 degree Celsius lunar night and send a still-here signal after five days, addressing a NASA incentive for survive-the-night technology demonstrations.
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