Space technology startup “Deep Space Energy” is developing a new power generator for space that uses heat produced by radioisotopes derived from nuclear waste, enabling electricity generation even when sunlight is not available. With this technology, the company aims to accelerate lunar exploration and resource extraction, while also ensuring a reliable energy supply for critical military reconnaissance satellites.
The space technology startup Deep Space Energy is developing a new electricity generator for space that uses heat produced by radioisotopes obtained from nuclear waste, enabling power generation even when the Sun is not available. With this technology, the company aims to accelerate lunar exploration and resource extraction, while also ensuring a resilient energy supply for critical military reconnaissance satellites.
Ten years ago, when Mihails Ščepanskis was working at the University of Latvia, he saw colleagues in the SpaceTRIP project attempting to develop a generator for deep-space missions. At the time, however, the idea could not be realized due to technological limitations. In 2022, he came up with an idea for how these technological challenges could be solved and shared it with a friend who works at the European Space Agency. The friend saw potential and arranged an introductory meeting with ESA specialists. “I remember it like it was yesterday—it was May 4, 2022, a public holiday, and I hadn’t prepared much. But at the end of the conversation, they kindly invited me to submit a project proposal so this crazy idea of mine could be explored,” Mihails recalls.
At that time, there was nothing—just an idea. He founded a company with a share capital of one euro and submitted an application. For Mihails, it was a hobby project alongside his main job at his startup Cenos, so he almost forgot about Deep Space Energy until he received the news that the project had been approved. In total, it received €150,000 in funding. In 2023, the Deep Space Energy team began work with the goal of developing the first design concept for the proposed technology. “The European Space Agency recognizes that it cannot achieve its goals with existing technologies, so it signs contracts with innovative companies to develop the technologies it needs,” says Mihails.
Science-intensive companies are divided into three levels—the simplest of these complex companies are component manufacturers. The next level is producing subsystems, and the highest level is being a system integrator. For now, ESA views Deep Space Energy as a developer of an energy converter component, but Mihails is already building the company with the ambition of integrating the entire subsystem—the generator itself.
Five times more efficient than existing solutions
“The limited availability of radioisotopes significantly restricts the number of missions and the pace of exploration, and thus also the date when the lunar economy can be ‘unlocked.’ We will enable faster exploration and earlier resource extraction on the Moon,” notes Mihails.
Radioisotopes used in space are obtained from nuclear waste; they are radioactive materials produced as a by-product of nuclear energy. As they decay radioactively, they release heat. Since the very beginnings of space exploration, scientists have learned how to convert this radioisotope-generated heat into electricity.
“Everything we know about the planets of the Solar System has been made possible thanks to radioisotope thermoelectric generators,” claims Mihails.
Although this is a reliable and proven technology, only about 5% of the heat is converted into electricity. “NASA missions from the 1960s up to today have used this technology, and that was possible only because nuclear weapons were being produced during the Cold War, and radioisotopes emerged as a by-product. There was an enormous amount of this material. And although sending it into space was expensive, at least the material was available,” Mihails explains.
However, once nuclear weapons production stopped, radioisotopes also stopped being produced. As a result, the price of radioisotopes has become extremely high. Although Europe and the U.S. plan to produce radioisotopes by separating them from civilian nuclear reactor waste, it remains an expensive process that requires hundreds of millions in capital investment for nuclear waste processing plants.
This is why Deep Space Energy has devised a solution and is working on a technology that converts heat into electricity five times more efficiently than current technology, thereby reducing the required amount of radioisotopes by a factor of five.
“The biggest problem is that radioisotope production is extremely limited. This significantly restricts the number of missions and the pace of space exploration, and thus also the date when the lunar economy can be ‘unlocked.’ We will enable faster exploration and earlier resource extraction on the Moon,” Mihails reiterates.
Lunar mineral exploration will become accessible sooner
Mihails predicts that over the next 10 years, the Moon’s surface will be swarming with specialized robotic exploration vehicles, or rovers, because before mining can begin, it is necessary to know where to do it. The challenge is the so-called lunar nights, which last 14 days, during which temperatures drop to around –150 to –200 degrees Celsius.
“In such conditions, everything freezes. That’s why any lunar mission needs heat to keep all rover systems running throughout the lunar night, so the rover doesn’t turn into an expensive pile of scrap metal. Without radioisotope heat, these rovers have a lifecycle of about two weeks—the length of a lunar day. Then they freeze and never ‘wake up’ again. Our technology could help extend the lifecycle of rovers, whose delivery to the Moon costs around $100 million, from two weeks to about two years. That means that after paying this high delivery cost, you can explore dozens of times more,” says Mihails.
Similarly, in the future, Deep Space Energy’s technology could make lunar resource utilization more accessible. “The availability of future services and the scale of industrial activity on the Moon are directly linked to energy availability and price. By increasing the amount of electricity produced per kilogram of radioisotope fivefold, we effectively reduce the price per kilowatt-hour on the Moon. This makes all activities on its surface more affordable. As a result, their scale will grow, as will demand for energy,” Mihails explains.
Helping survive the lunar night
To survive the lunar night, small rovers require about 40 watts of electrical power. To generate that amount of electricity, Deep Space Energy would need two kilograms of radioisotope, whereas existing technology would require 10 kilograms.
“How much does it cost to deliver two kilograms of radioisotopes to the Moon? First, the radioisotope fuel has to be produced on Earth. Based on capital investments in infrastructure, two kilograms of radioisotopes cost about $40 million. Delivering such a ‘package’ to the Moon, together with the rest of the generator components, costs several tens of millions of dollars more. With our technology, the same cost can yield five times more electricity. Or, looked at the other way around, electricity on the Moon becomes five times cheaper, which can stimulate industrial growth,” Mihails claims.
He points out that Elon Musk did something similar with SpaceX—the cost of delivering one kilogram to Earth orbit dropped several times. This triggered a snowball effect: delivery costs fell, satellites in orbit became more accessible, demand for satellites increased, creating even greater demand for rocket launch services and even lower prices. As a result, interest grew in a sector that had previously been inaccessible.
“Although we are still at a very early stage today, we can create a similar effect over the next 10 years—but on the Moon. When America was discovered in the 15th century with all its resource wealth, economic development began. The Moon is the next America,” Mihails believes.
Initially, he thought that there was no business in deep-space missions—only science. But now the entrepreneur is convinced that the Moon also offers great business opportunities.
“Although the Moon is a very promising market, it requires large capital investments and infrastructure development. It is predicted that between 2030 and 2040, the lunar market will be institutional—the main clients will be national space agencies exploring and building infrastructure. After that, the first commercial activities in mining and other lunar economic activities carried out by private companies will appear,” says Mihails.
He is convinced that Deep Space Energy is Latvia’s opportunity to be part of the lunar economy: “By the middle of the century, the lunar economy will be roughly the size of Poland’s GDP. And we can be part of it. That means Deep Space Energy’s activity on the Moon could double Latvia’s GDP—but that will be mid-century. For now, our technology can help Europe address an equally important challenge—security.”
Enhancing the resilience of military reconnaissance satellites
Radioisotope generator technology also addresses critical issues in the defense sector. “Modern warfare is based on satellite-provided intelligence data. For example, Russia was able to quickly eliminate Ukraine’s bridgehead in the Kursk region when the U.S. stopped supplying intelligence data. This shows how crucial satellite data is. Unfortunately, the lack of military satellites is the most serious ‘gap’ in Europe’s defense. We rely on U.S. data because the U.S. has such satellites. Recent events show that greater independence is needed even from allies, and that sovereign assets must be developed in strategically important areas. Military satellites—especially expensive ones in geostationary orbit—are a concrete area where Europe needs to invest resources,” Mihails emphasizes.
The resilience of expensive military satellites against potential hostile interference is a key aspect of ensuring secure access to intelligence data when it is needed. For this reason, one of the challenges in the latest call of NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) is dedicated specifically to the resilience of space assets. Deep Space Energy is the first Latvian company accepted into the NATO DIANA acceleration program. Mihails is particularly proud of this, as competition is fierce—only 4% of all project applications are approved.
“NATO member states do not have armies as large as some other countries, so NATO invests in ensuring that the alliance’s technological excellence surpasses that of the adversary. NATO believes that our technology has the potential to enhance the alliance’s technological superiority, which is why they selected us. The DIANA space challenge group includes several companies from the UK and the U.S., as well as firms from Sweden and Portugal. It is already a major achievement for a Latvian startup to be included in this group, historically dominated by major powers,” says Mihails.
Within this program, the company will receive €100,000 to conduct research into the practical application of the technology in defense satellites.
Deep Space Energy’s short-term strategy is the defense market—helping to improve the resilience of NATO satellites. However, Mihails is convinced that in the long term, the company will be one of the participants in the lunar economy.
