The NASA Acting Boss Orders Building a Nuclear Reactor on the Moon Before China Does
The acting administrator of NASA, Sean Duffy, has accelerated the agency’s plans to build a nuclear reactor on the Moon, highlighting NASA’s emphasis on crewed spaceflights and establishing a long-term human presence on the lunar satellite.
Duffy issued a directive to shorten the project timelines and set the launch of the reactor to the Moon for 2030. In the document, the NASA official mentions China and Russia’s joint plan to deploy their own nuclear reactor on the lunar surface by the mid-2030s, warning that both countries could “declare an exclusion zone” that limits the U.S. agency’s capability to do the same.
“To properly advance this critical technology, capable of sustaining a future lunar economy, generating power on Mars, and enhancing our national security in space, it is imperative that the agency acts swiftly,” NASA stated in the directive sent on Thursday, July 31.
NASA has been working on its fission power system for the lunar surface since 2022 when it awarded three $5 million contracts to commercial partners to develop initial conceptual designs for a small reactor. At that time, the agency established it should weigh less than 6 metric tons and generate 40 kilowatts of electrical power, enough to supply about 33 homes. However, in the new order, Duffy not only demands to accelerate development but also raises the target to 100 kilowatts of power, capable of supplying electricity to about 80 homes.
NASA aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon. Building a habitat there is unfeasible without a reliable energy source, and relying solely on solar power would be inadequate. The lunar day-night cycle lasts approximately a month, with two weeks of light and two weeks of darkness that would render solar panels inoperative. In contrast, fission reactors can operate 24 hours a day, even in the darkest craters and during the long lunar nights.
Ensuring energy on the Moon is crucial for human exploration, an objective that the current administration prioritizes over other missions. NASA is preparing to face severe budget cuts under the proposed 2026 budget by the White House, which would jeopardize several of its robotic missions. According to the proposal, the budget for planetary science would decrease from $2.7 billion to $1.9 billion, while crewed space exploration would receive an additional $647 million compared to 2025.
The latest directive is part of the administration’s commitment to sending humans to the Moon and Mars and consolidating U.S. supremacy in the new space race against China and Russia. The order stipulates that NASA must appoint a project lead within 30 days and issue a request for proposals to commercial partners within the following 60 days.
This article has been translated from Gizmodo US by Martín Nicolás Parolari. You can find the original version here.
