NUCLEAR SAFETY

The presence of radioactive materials in Nuclear Power Sources (NPS) used for space applications and their potential harm to humans and the environment in Earth's biosphere due to an accident require that safety considerations must always be an inherent part of the design and operation of space missions making use of NPS.

Implementation of the guidelines provided for the international safety framework for nuclear power source applications in outer space for ESA space missions — The ESA safety policy on the use of nuclear power sources can be found here and is applicable to ESA missions.

The Independent Safety Office is supporting the European Large Logistics Lander (EL3) project in its study phase. As of today EL3 aims for two payload options that were approved for study at Space19+: a delivery of logistics in support of human expeditions to the Moon, and a self-standing European science mission, potentially to return samples to Earth as a high-profile science mission. Missions combining one or more scientific experiments, technology demonstration, and cargo delivery could also be foreseen in the future.