Zeno RHU will aim to survive lunar night

[Marlin]

Zeno RHU will aim to survive lunar night

https://www.ans.org/news/2026-08-20/article-8312/zeno-rhu-will-aim-to-survive-lunar-night/

[Core Content]

Zeno Power will provide an americium-241 radioisotope heating unit for a Firefly Aerospace lunar mission scheduled for 2028. The unit is designed to maintain thermal control for spacecraft components during the lunar night. Zeno is currently evaluating production options for the device, including its facility at the Vallecitos Nuclear Center, to support future government and commercial space exploration requirements.

As established by a commercial payload agreement, a radioisotope heating unit (RHU) developed by Zeno Power will be onboard one of Firefly Aerospace's existing Blue Ghost missions to the near side of the moon as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services, the companies announced yesterday.

Zeno, which has already been working on an americium-241–fueled radioisotope power system for Harmonia RPS, will provide a lightweight, compact 5-Wt Am-241 RHU that includes communications, electrical power, command and data handling, and thermal management subsystems.

The RHU will generate passive thermal energy to keep critical spacecraft components operational during the lunar night, when temperatures can fall below −280°F.

Read the full article at ans.org:
https://www.ans.org/news/2026-08-20/article-8312/zeno-rhu-will-aim-to-survive-lunar-night/