Fission Surface Future, with Lindsay Kaldon (NASA)

This week on Pathfinder, we sit down with Lindsay Kaldon, NASA’s Fission Surface Power Project Manager, to explore NASA's plans for deploying small nuclear reactors on the Moon and Mars as part of the Artemis missions. Before her current role at NASA, Lindsay spent over a decade in the DoD, where she worked as an Air Force officer specializing in electronic warfare, keeping pilots safe at extreme altitudes. With a background in both electrical and nuclear engineering, Lindsay’s experience spans high-altitude spy planes, drones, and EMP defenses for Navy ships, giving her a unique perspective on technology in extreme environments.
In this episode, Lindsay walks us through NASA's efforts to deploy small nuclear reactors on the Moon as part of the Artemis missions and beyond. She also explains how her defense background prepared her for managing the technical and regulatory complexities of space nuclear power.

In addition, we cover:
– The history of nuclear systems in space, from SNAP-10 to today's advancements
– NASA's collaboration with industry partners
– The role of nuclear power in supporting long-term lunar and Martian missions
– The technical challenges of fission in space
– The potential future of nuclear propulsion and energy solutions for space exploration 

And much more…

• Chapters •
00:00 - Intro
00:28 - Lindsay's role at NASA
01:07 - Power reactors in space
08:05 - Highly enriched uranium
11:56 - Importance of NASA's long-term nuclear goals
15:28 - RPS vs FSP
18:20 - Lindsay's background
25:50 - Nuclear subs?
31:30 - How does the team evolve in the next 5 years?
39:36 - Overall architecture of NASA's FSP needs
42:19 - Supply chain problems
46:32 - Technical challenges of nuclear in space
52:36 - Who regulates space nuclear?
54:31 - DoD & NASA
59:54 - Milestones to monitor
1:02:42 - The state of nuclear on Earth

• Show notes •
NASA FSP website — https://www.nasa.gov/tdm/fission-surf...
Mo's socials —   / itsmoislam  
Payload’s socials —   / payloadspace   /   / payloadspace  
Pathfinder archive — Watch:    / @payloadspace  
Pathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes

• About us •
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