NASA's nuclear powered lunar landers

The ILN landers could form a wide area network of up to eight vehicles acting as nodes to conduct simultaneous seismological research to understand Moonquakes and the effect of meteor impacts

NASA's Glenn Research Center is interested in alternative radioisotope power sources for this lunar surface element of ILN

The space agency wants a contractor to carry out a power system analysis to arrive at a recommendation of options for the first set of ILN spacecraft.

NASA wants contractors to consider a single radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG)module as the power source for a spacecraft that would be launched by an Orbital Sciences' Minotaur rocket. The RTG, lunar environment study should also look for alternatives to plutonium as the isotope. The RTG could power a lunar Geophysical Instrument Package. The report is to be delivered on 19 September this year

The University Space Research Association, part of the Center for Space Nuclear Research (CSNR), located at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), is to work with NASA

The INL has participated in the development of both NASA's General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) and the Multi-Mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG). The GPHS radioisotope thermoelectric generator has been used for NASA's Galileo, Ulysses, and Cassini  missions. The MMRTG would use eight GPHS modules and it is being used for NASA's 2009 launched Mars Science Laboratory rover

According to NASA the CSNR will provide "unbiased and realistic" assessments of the availability of the GPHS source materials, (that's plutonium to you or me) and timelines for providing small, low power radioisotope power sources for the ILN's "first nodes"