 "A new space race: Why US is rushing plans for a nuclear reactor on the Moon")
The United States has just accelerated the space race. At a time when countries are competing against one another to reach the Moon, US space agency Nasa’s acting administrator has issued a directive to fast-track efforts to put a nuclear reactor on the lunar surface.
The plans mark the first major policy changes by Sean Duffy, who is also the secretary of transportation, after US President Donald Trump appointed him to the role of Nasa’s acting administrator.
What does this plan entail? Why does the US want a nuclear reactor on the Moon? And when will this plan come to life?
What is Nasa’s acting head’s plan?
As first reported by Politico, Duffy has issued a directive to fast-track plans to deploy a nuclear reactor on the Moon by the year 2030.
In his memo, sent out last Thursday (July 31), Duffy wrote, “To properly advance this critical technology to be able to support a future lunar economy, high power energy generation on Mars, and to strengthen our national security in space, it is imperative the agency move quickly.”
He wrote that the reactor should provide at least 100 kilowatts of power — enough to power 80 houses in the US — and be ready to launch in late 2029. In his directive, he has written that a Nasa official should be appointed within 30 days, who shall be tasked with overseeing this project and sought proposals from companies within 60 days.
In his directive, Duffy that China and Russia also have similar plans to put a nuclear reactor on the Moon by the mid-2030s as part of a partnership to build a base there. If they were first, China and Russia “could potentially declare a keep-out zone” that would inhibit what the United States could do there, Duffy said.
This was echoed by another Nasa official, who said to Politico: “It is about winning the second space race.”
Notably, in 2022, Nasa announced plans to put a nuclear reactor on the Moon by 2030 as part of a vision to turn the lunar body into an orbiting power station. At that time, research was carried out to design a fission power system that would provide at least 40 kilowatts of power.
What will be the cost of a nuclear reactor on the Moon?
While the exact cost is not known yet, it is expected to be an expensive proposition. The directive mentioned Trump’s budget request for the 2026 fiscal year, which includes $350 million for a new programme “that will accelerate the development of high priority technologies for Mars, (ie. FSP).”
The funding would increase up to $500 million starting in the 2027 fiscal year.
Why does US want a nuclear reactor on the Moon?
The simple answer is — power. Currently, spacecraft and astronauts heading to the Moon have to depend on solar panels and batteries. However, generating solar power on the lunar surface is difficult as it receives two weeks of continual sunshine followed by two weeks of cold darkness.
Moreover, both Nasa and China are focusing on the Moon’s south polar region where sunlight is hardly available. In such circumstances having a nuclear reactor powering your spacecraft would be highly beneficial.
In fact, Nasa is returning to the Moon with the Artemis programme in 2027. The aim of this programme is to ultimately establish a long-term human presence on the Moon — a place we haven’t seen in person since 1972.
And that’s not all. Space experts note that if successful it could be used together for long-duration missions to the moon and eventually Mars. They note that if humans plan to live on the Moon and colonise Mars, as Elon Musk would like to, they would require to solve the problem of generating power, and that’s where the nuclear reactor would come in.
Even Simon Middleburgh from the Nuclear Futures Institute at Bangor University in Wales told the BBC, “The truth is that nuclear is the only option to power a moonbase.”
He further noted, “Nuclear is the only game in town. We can’t take fuel up there. Solar panels won’t work. Diesel generators won’t work and the old-style radio-thermal generators just aren’t big enough to pack a punch.”
What about China and Russia?
Duffy fast-tracking plans for a nuclear reactor on the Moon comes as Russia and China have announced a similar plan by 2035. A memorandum of cooperation for the project was signed between Russia’s space agency Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration (CNSA), earlier this year.
Yury Borisov, Roscosmos’ director general, told Russia’s state media that the moonbase would be constructed “without the presence of humans”.
Experts note that the technology race on the Moon is an extension of the geopolitical fight on Earth.
Keep watching this space to see what happens next.
With inputs from agencies
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