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NASA Developing Small Nuclear Reactor For the Moon
marshotel writes "NASA astronauts will need power sources when they return to the moon and establish a lunar outpost. NASA engineers are exploring the possibility of nuclear fission to provide the necessary power, and they are taking initial steps toward a non-nuclear technology demonstration of this type of system."
I'm not going to be bothered with the math nor will I try to defend Heinlein's supposition that large loads would produce mushroom clouds upon impact.
But, an object that leaves the moon at roughly escape velocity will be moving much faster by the time it hits Earth's atmosphere. You've got quite a bit of potential energy relative to the Earth just by being so high above the surface - That's quite a long fall with no air to slow you down. You can't factor in strictly the kinetic energy from the launch.
He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.