Airbus brings in Amentum for ArgoNET lunar nuclear safety work

(SpaceEnergy) Airbus has engaged Amentum to assess nuclear safety and regulatory requirements for transporting radioactive materials to the Moon under ESA’s planned ArgoNET lunar infrastructure mission.

Amentum said its nuclear safety specialists in Aix-en-Provence, France, will support Airbus in evaluating different approaches to radioactive-material transport for the mission.

The work includes reviewing the proposed approaches against European Space Agency requirements and applicable nuclear safety and regulatory standards, as well as challenging and validating safety assumptions used in the programme.

Amentum said ArgoNET forms part of ESA’s Argonaut programme and is intended to provide lunar-surface infrastructure encompassing power supply, navigation and telecommunications to support a sustained presence on the Moon by 2031.

The appointment represents a further step in addressing the safety and regulatory framework required to transport radioactive material beyond Earth as European industry develops future lunar power infrastructure.