Unlimited Energy with Nuclear Reactor’s Breakthrough

 Project NOVA Criticality Milestone about Unlimited Energy at Nevada National Security Site

Scientists just brought us one step closer to the dream of unlimited power. On 17 Nov at the Nevada National Security Site, a nuclear energy startup called Valar Atomics achieved zero-power criticality, a crucial step in nuclear energy development. Valar Atomics' NOVA Core achieved zero-power criticality at LANL’s NCERC in Nevada, marking a key milestone for nuclear startup. Zero-power criticality demonstrates a self-sustaining chain reaction without active heat removal, crucial for validating nuclear core physics. Project NOVA tests a HALEU TRISO-fueled core, modeling Valar’s Ward250 reactor scheduled to start power operations next year. Valar’s CEO emphasizes the breakthrough as the first criticality achieved by a venture-backed company, advancing American nuclear innovation. The experiments confirm Valar’s reactor design, fuel performance and validate proprietary physics models ahead of high-temperature testing. The collaboration underscores the importance of federal partnerships, with NCERC providing critical safety and experimental expertise under DOE oversight.  The project aligns with DOE goals to reach full criticality by July 2026 and accelerate private-sector nuclear capabilities. This milestone supports the push for commercial-scale reactors powering industry, hydrogen production, and AI infrastructure with carbon-free energy. 

Also known as cold criticality, the term refers to a self-sustaining chemical reaction of uranium-235, a radioactive uranium isotope. As the name suggests, cold criticality means the fission system doesn’t reach full operating temperatures (which are hotter than 1300°F), and therefore doesn’t generate power. Instead, cold criticality is the foundational step which precedes operational status. Still, the recent achievement is an opportunity for researchers to understand the behaviour of the core, which could mean we’re closer than ever to unlocking true unlimited energy. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Valar Atomics announced that Valar Atomics’ NOVA Core has achieved zero-power criticality at LANL’s National Criticality Experiments Research Centre (NCERC) at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). Approach-to-criticality operations began on 12 Nov, and zero-power criticality was achieved at 11:45 AM PT on 17 Nov, 2025. Zero-power criticality, or “cold criticality”, is the foundational milestone which precedes nuclear operation with power. It is a self-sustaining chain reaction of uranium-235 within a nuclear core, but without reaching full operating temperatures or actively removing heat with a working fluid. Zero-power criticality allows Valar to gain a greater understanding of the neutronic characteristics of the core and verify assumptions about fuel, moderators, active reactivity control, and burnable poisons.

“Zero power criticality is a reactor’s first heartbeat, proof the physics holds,” Isaiah Taylor, founder and CEO of Valar Atomics, said. Taylor believes this achievement is ushering in “the dawn of a new era in American engineering”, one that he believes will evolve rapidly. You’ve probably had that eerie feeling before, knowing what’s about to happen before it actually does. Project NOVA (Nuclear Observations of Valar Atomics), a collaboration between LANL NCERC and Valar Atomics, is a series of criticality experiments on a HALEU TRISO (High Assay Low Enriched Uranium Tristructural-isotropic)-fuelled core. The campaign builds on earlier work at NCERC, including the Deimos critical assembly in 2024, which established the core test geometry and instrumentation approach used as the foundation for NOVA. The central portion of the NOVA core was built by Valar Atomics. Experiments will continue over the coming weeks to evaluate the neutronic behaviour and key performance characteristics of Valar’s High-Temperature Gas Reactor (HTGR) design.

The recent tests are a part of Project NOVA (Nuclear Observation of Valar Atomics), a campaign to verify the physics of cold criticality. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) National Criticality Experiments Research Centre (NCERC) has its roots in the Manhattan Project, the program which developed nuclear weapons during World War II. Valar Atomics designed the central part of the core, which features a high-temperature gas reactor (HTR) design. Typically, HTR cores rely on helium gas and ceramic material to stabilize the fission, or atom splitting, process. The experiments are being conducted at the NCERC, the US only general-purpose critical-experiments facility, under National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Located within the NNSS and operated by Los Alamos National Laboratory, NCERC provides the test assemblies, instrumentation, and expertise to conduct safe, controlled reactor physics experiments under DOE/NNSA oversight. The NOVA Core, built by Valar Atomics and operated by LANL on the Comet critical assembly at NCERC, is a graphite-moderated, HALEU TRISO-fuelled nuclear core with boron-carbide control elements in stainless steel. The design builds on the Deimos assembly, incorporating proven structural and measurement components.

Valar Atomics’ success is also part of a larger national effort in the US. The DOE’s Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program seeks to expedite the nuclear reactor testing process, attempting to reinstate the US as a global leader in nuclear energy. The current goal of the program is for several advanced reactors to reach full criticality, or operational status, by mid 2026. NOVA’s configuration was selected to closely model Valar Atomics’ Ward250 core, which is scheduled to begin power operations under the DOE’s Advanced Reactor Pilot Program, created in response to Executive Order 14301. NOVA uses the same fuel, moderator, and reactivity-control scheme as Ward250, enabling LANL researchers to collect high-fidelity neutronics data and validate Valar Atomics’ physics models ahead of Ward250 power operations. As exciting as the recent achievement may seem for proponents of nuclear energy, there are still many obstacles for Valar Atomics to clear before its reactors are viable for commercial use. This test provides key performance data on Valar graphite-core design and validates the physics models and simulations. “Project NOVA provides us with real-world data which will help us answer key questions about TRISO fuel performance in our core and validate our proprietary software stack, which we use to design our power reactors.” said Sonat Sen, Valar Atomics’ Lead Core Designer.

“It is much easier to achieve a zero-power criticality than to actually make power in a reactor. There’s a huge technical gap between those things,” Taylor confesses. “But I certainly wouldn’t underestimate the value of the data that we’re going to get out of this test.” Project NOVA’s success confirms the physics underpinning Valar’s HTGR design, and clears the way for power operations in the next phase of testing. It marks a decisive step toward commercial-scale, factory-built nuclear reactors capable of powering heavy industry, hydrogen production, and AI-era data infrastructure with carbon-free energy. “This milestone underscores collaborative efforts propelling nuclear innovation responsibly,” said Dr Rian Bahran, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Reactors. “Confirming core physics at zero power with oversight enables Valar’s path to elevated operations, leveraging all DOE capabilities to aid the Reactor Pilot Program’s target of criticality by 4th July and accelerating the AI race via advanced energy generation solutions.” According to the press release, zero-power criticality experiments allow the research team to better understand the core’s “neutronic behaviour,” which is simply the physics of the reactor. The team is also studying variables such as the reactivity control, or the rate of reactions within the core, and burnable poisons, which act as buffers in reactors. “Zero power criticality is a reactor’s first heartbeat, proof the physics holds,” said Isaiah Taylor, Founder & CEO, Valar Atomics. “I’m incredibly proud of the Valar team that took this from blueprint to splitting the atom, securing the first criticality ever achieved by a venture-backed company. We extend our gratitude to the phenomenally talented team at Los Alamos and especially NCERC for their close partnership on Project NOVA. The NCERC team remains one of the most crucially important teams for the future of atomic energy in America by maintaining a high standard of competence and vital capability to conduct criticality experiments. This moment marks the dawn of a new era in American nuclear engineering, one defined by speed, scale and private-sector execution with closer federal partnership.”

“President Trump asked industry and the labs to make nuclear great again. We got together and decided to start with the basics of fission. This team delivered incredible results safely so we can keep moving up the technical ladder. America should be thrilled, but wanting more,” said Max Ukropina, Valar Atomics’ Head of Projects. Project NOVA is a zero-power criticality (or “cold criticality”) physics-validation campaign conducted in partnership with LANL NCERC and Valar Atomics under DOE oversight at the Nevada National Security Site. The program’s goal is to confirm Valar’s reactor core design and fuel performance under low-temperature, zero-power conditions and validate Valar’s software simulation stack, providing the critical data required for subsequent high-temperature operations. The Project NOVA campaign encompasses a variety of criticality experiments in six different configurations with subsequent analysis and results by LANL. After today’s commencement, Project NOVA experiments are expected to continue over the course of several weeks at NNSS. Data from NOVA will inform system conditioning, helium-loop operations, and temperature ramp-up protocols within Valar’s advanced-reactor program, supporting the Administration’s goal through the Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program to reach full reactor criticality.

Next, the Valar Atomics team will test their core at extreme temperatures and progressively higher power levels. The reactor will also have to undergo safety and regulatory processes with the DOE, according to the Valar Atomics communications team. Should the US achieve its goal and see several reactors reach full criticality by this summer, it would allow the country to “to stay competitive in AI, rebuild industrial capacity, keep a stable grid, maintain reasonable prices, and cut emissions at the same time,” the team explains. The National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC), located at the Nevada National Security Site and operated by Los Alamos National Laboratory, is the US only general-purpose critical experiments facility. NCERC supports nuclear-science experiments, training, and instrumentation development to ensure the safety and advancement of nuclear technology. NCERC is supported by the DOE Nuclear Criticality Safety Program, funded and managed by the National Nuclear Security Administration for the Department of Energy. However, two major hurdles remain for clean, commercial nuclear energy: scaling the reactors to industrial sizes and actually harnessing power for the grid. Still, progress must start somewhere, and Valar Atomics’ recent experiments are a promising test run. Valar Atomics is building America’s first nuclear gigasites, clusters of thousands of high-temperature reactors designed to supply the energy, industrial heat, and carbon-neutral fuels which modern industry and AI infrastructure demand. Using TRISO fuel, helium coolant, and graphite moderators, Valar’s advanced reactors are inherently safe and capable of operating at much higher temperatures than conventional plants. Under Project NOVA, Valar’s reactor achieved cold criticality, the first instance of such a milestone by a venture-backed startup. The company has broken ground in Utah on Ward 250, its first nuclear test reactor; completed Ward Zero, its non-nuclear prototype; partnered with the Philippines Nuclear Research Institute; and been selected by the DOE for both the Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program and Advanced Nuclear Fuel Line Pilot Program.

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Images of snow on Mars

 Snow on Mars revealed through images of the Red Planet

A mysterious winter wonderland on Mars has been revealed, captured in stunning high-resolution images by two of the most advanced space orbiters. Mars orbiters witness a 'winter wonderland' on the Red Planet. Snow dots the Martian landscape in the images from ESA's Mars Express orbiter and NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The hills in Mars' Australe Scopuli region, located near the planet's south pole, are covered in carbon dioxide ice. The darker areas are layers of dust. Well, even if there's no snow where you live, at least you can enjoy these images of a "winter" wonderland on Mars. Taken by the German-built High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express orbiter and by NASA's NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter using its High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, these images showcase what appears to be a snowy landscape in the Australe Scopuli region of Mars, near the planet's south pole. But the "snow" seen here is quite different from what we have on Earth.

Recently released images from two orbiters have revealed CO2 ice and dark dust patterns stretching across the planet’s southern region, creating a frosty illusion near the South Pole. Captured by the European Space Agency’s Mars Express and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the images show swirling white and brown textures covering the Australe Scopuli region. While the surface might appear peaceful, the phenomena behind it are anything but. What looks like frozen calm is, in reality, a dynamic and violent process caused by sunlight hitting CO₂ ice. A series of vertical bars of swirling purples, blues and greens showing various layers of dust and ice in Mars atmosphere in the images released. ESA spacecraft sees a kaleidoscope of colour in Mars' atmosphere. In fact, it's CO2 ice, and at Mars' south pole, there's 26-foot-thick (8-meter-thick) layer of it year-round. In this icy valley in the Australe Scopuli region, the dark and light bands are alternating layers of dust and ice. 

So, is it snow? Not quite. The white surface seen in the ESA and NASA images is composed of CO2 ice, not frozen water. Unlike Earth’s snow, this type of frost is colder, more fragile and doesn’t behave the same way under sunlight. “Martian snow comes in two varieties: water ice and carbon dioxide, or dry ice. Because Martian air is so thin and the temperatures so cold, water-ice snow sublimates, or becomes a gas, before it even touches the ground,” as stated by the NASA. So why does it look like there's just a dusting of "snow" in the images? Those darker areas are layers of dust that have fallen on top of the ice. The dust is typically found deep beneath the ice, but a seasonal process brings some of it to the surface. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter also saw winter frost lining the sides of dunes on Mars. This frost can prevent erosion, NASA writes, keeping the dust that makes up the dunes in place until the thawing season in spring.

ESA’s Mars Express, equipped with a German-built High-Resolution Stereo Camera, snapped the initial images in June 2022. A few months later, NASA’s orbiter followed up with more views using its HiRISE camera. Both sets of photos focused on the Australe Scopuli region near the planet’s southern ice cap. As reported by the Economic Times, the CO₂ ice sheet here can be up to 8 meters thick and stays frozen year-round. On top of that ice lies a patchwork of dark dust, picked up and moved across the surface by subtle but powerful Martian winds. Over time, this dust becomes part of a visual signature which tells scientists when and how the ice has changed. The contrast between light and dark areas is striking, and also informative. The Martian dunes in Mars' northern hemisphere were captured from above by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter using its High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on 08 Sep, 2022.  As sunlight warms the CO2 ice on Mars' south pole in the summer, the ice begins to sublimate, or turn directly from a solid into vapour. As it does so, pockets of trapped gas form within the ice. While the surface might look like a peaceful frost-scape, it’s actually being shaped by pressurized gas jets just beneath the ice. Here’s how it works: in the Martian summer, sunlight begins warming the CO2 ice from below.

Eventually, the pressure builds enough to create a little gas eruption, which is powerful enough to shoot the dark dust found beneath the ice into the air. As the dust falls back to the surface, the wind carries it into these swirling patterns. (Side note: a similar process creates the spider-like features found on the Martian surface.) “The CO2 ice does not melt. Instead, it goes back from solid to gas directly in the atmosphere. That leads to the formation of really unique surface features,” explained Sylvain Piqueux of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Since the gas can’t escape right away, it builds up until it bursts through, carrying dust into the thin atmosphere before it drifts back down in twisting streaks. This process, as explained by the Space.com, is responsible for the swirling dark patterns seen in the imagery. They aren’t fixed, they change with the seasons, depending on the location and timing of the gas’s escape.

Beyond the icy plains, NASA’s orbiter spotted another surprise: a layer of seasonal frost coating the sides of sand dunes. Though it might seem like a minor detail, this thin crust actually plays a big role in stabilizing the landscape. The frost acts like a temporary glue, holding dust and loose particles in place until spring arrives. Once the temperature rises, the frost sublimates, just like the CO₂ ice, and the material underneath is released, often reshaped by wind. This subtle dynamic means Mars is home to slow, quiet processes which prevents erosion, preserve geological features and signal how even minor seasonal changes can impact terrain over time. So what looks like a beautiful pastoral winter scene in these Mars Express images is actually a dynamic summer scene, where gas jets spew dust across the surface. It's still cold outside, just a casual -193°F (-125°C).

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