Co-Founder and CEO, @zeno_power | Building nuclear batteries to power the frontier

Washington, D.C. / Seattle, WA
We're bringing nuclear power to the Moon in 2028. Today, @Zeno_Power announced an agreement with @FireflySpace to fly our Americium-241 Radioisotope Heater Unit (RHU) and Survive-the-Night Package on an upcoming Blue Ghost mission, in support of @NASAMoonBase. The race back to the Moon is a race to stay, and staying means surviving the two-week lunar night when temperatures fall below -280°F. Today, America is behind. Since 2019, China's Chang'e 4 mission has survived repeated lunar nights using radioisotope technology to stay alive. Recent U.S. lunar missions, relying on solar power and batteries, have not survived. That's about to change. After Blue Ghost completes its lunar-day operations, our RHU will provide continuous heat to keep the Survive-the-Night Package running through the dark as it transmits operational data back to Earth. NASA's demand signal for this was explicit: it specifically incentivized this mission to demonstrate surviving the lunar night with radioisotope technology by 2028. With Firefly, we're answering that call. Permanence is a power problem. @NASAMoonBase – and the dozens of missions in the coming years that will build toward a permanent lunar presence – will require nuclear at a scale that doesn't exist today. At Zeno, we're ready to meet that demand. Ad Lunam Per Nuclear!
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NASA’s plans for a permanent Moon Base have dramatically accelerated the need for nuclear power on the Moon. Today, we’re preparing for our first lunar deployment in 2028. @NASAMoonBase will be built mission by mission, and spacecraft need to survive the lunar night to establish a permanent presence. Thanks for the chat @itsmoislam and @JackKuhr.
The Space & Defense Update is LIVE from @NASA @itsmoislam and @JackKuhr are joined today by: – @GoesslerAlyssa, VP at AE Industrial Partners – @tybernstein, Co-founder & CEO of @zeno_power – Carlos Garcia-Galan, Moon Base Program Manager at NASA – AJ Gemer, Co-founder & CTO of @LunarOutpostInc – @endeffector, Founder & CEO of @Astrolab_Space – @TaylorCSargent, Partner at @IndustriousVC We’re digging into: * Building NASA’s Moon base * Nuclear power for surviving the lunar night * The race to put rovers on the Moon * Autonomous exploration & the lunar economy * The investors backing the next generation of space companies Comment if you love space (help us share the show!) 👇 nitter.net/i/broadcasts/1qxvvepRw…
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Tyler Bernstein retweeted
We are teaming up with @FireflySpace to fly our Am-241 Radioisotope Heater Unit to the Moon on an upcoming Blue Ghost mission in 2028 - keeping a payload alive through the brutal cold and dark of lunar night. @NASAAdmin has been clear: nuclear power is crucial to building @NASAMoonBase. Zeno is ready to deliver it. Ad lunam per nuclear!
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Tyler Bernstein retweeted
We've been selected by @NASA for a NIAC Phase I grant to study a new application of space nuclear technology: integrating compact nuclear batteries into astronaut spacesuits. The project, EARENDIL, could help keep astronauts warm in the coldest permanently shadowed regions on the Moon, such as the lunar south pole.
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Tyler Bernstein retweeted
Nuclear Batteries are completely slept on 100x-1000x energy density of Li-Ion, decades long duration of stable power output Rovers on the dark side of the Moon Deep space satellites far past the Belt Drones lying in wait for years at the bottom of the ocean
Humanity is going back to the frontier – but this time to stay.   And the frontier won't be held by a few large platforms, it'll be held by fleets and constellations of systems numbering in the thousands. That requires a category of distributed power at a scale the world has never built. Until now.   My latest on why we're industrializing nuclear battery production at the historic Vallecitos Nuclear Center: zenopower.com/announcements/…
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Humanity is going back to the frontier – but this time to stay.   And the frontier won't be held by a few large platforms, it'll be held by fleets and constellations of systems numbering in the thousands. That requires a category of distributed power at a scale the world has never built. Until now.   My latest on why we're industrializing nuclear battery production at the historic Vallecitos Nuclear Center: zenopower.com/announcements/…
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Tyler Bernstein retweeted
Replying to @NASAAdmin
We'll see you at the Moon Base @NASAAdmin
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Replying to @zeno_power
I like it...
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In 1957, America's commercial nuclear era began at the Vallecitos Nuclear Center. Nearly seventy years later, we're putting that site back to work – restoring its world-class hot cells to industrialize nuclear battery production. The world is returning to the frontier, from the seabed to the lunar surface, but this time to stay. That demands distributed power at scale, and Zeno now has the manufacturing capability to deliver it – beginning in 2027.
Zeno Power
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The Moon Base (@NASAMoonBase) is going to need a lot of nuclear batteries. Good thing we’re building them – at scale. More to come next week.
Not every mission needs a megawatt. Nuclear batteries will power the next frontier – beginning in 2027.
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Tyler Bernstein retweeted
We cleared a major technical milestone for our space nuclear battery to power lunar missions. Read more: zenopower.com/announcements/…
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Tyler Bernstein retweeted
We applaud @NASAAdmin Jared Isaacman's bold vision for building the @NASAMoonBase. Radioisotope power systems, like RHUs and RTGs, will be the energy foundation to establish a sustained lunar presence.
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Tyler Bernstein retweeted
Zeno is ready to power America's @NASAMoonBase.
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Tyler Bernstein retweeted
The @NASA Reauthorization Act signals bipartisan support for deploying space nuclear power this decade. 🚀 Our CEO @tybernstein explains how Zeno can pull that timeline to the left. Read the full piece in @payloadspace: payloadspace.com/nasa-author…
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Tyler Bernstein retweeted
Congrats to @rookisaacman on becoming @NASA Administrator! Jared has been a bold advocate for space nuclear power, from lunar surface fission to nuclear propulsion and radioisotope power systems. We are looking forward to working with him to accelerate nuclear-enabled missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond to strengthen America’s leadership in space. 🚀
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Tyler Bernstein retweeted
Working with @Oranogroup, we're making a multi-million dollar investment to secure americium-241 to fuel our space nuclear batteries. 🚀
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