Source: Xinhua International Headline
Recently, the U.S. website Politico reported that NASA's acting administrator, Sean Duffy, will announce this week to accelerate the plan to build a nuclear reactor on the Moon.
Documents obtained by Politico show that NASA had previously discussed the plan to build a nuclear reactor on the lunar surface, and this time it will set a final timetable. A senior NASA official said, "It's about whether we can win the second space race."
This is a full-color image of the Moon, taken on May 30, 2025 at 15:00 by the narrow-field navigation sensor of the Tianwen-2 probe, and made after radiometric correction. Xinhua News Agency photo (photographed by the China National Space Administration)
According to Duffy's directive, NASA must solicit industry proposals to develop a 100-kilowatt nuclear reactor, with a planned launch before 2030. This is very important for astronauts returning to the Moon. NASA previously funded a study on building a 40-kilowatt nuclear reactor on the Moon, with a planned launch in the early 2030s.
NASA is looking for companies capable of launching a nuclear reactor before 2030. Duffy said that the country that first has a nuclear reactor on the Moon may declare a no-fly zone, which would severely hinder the U.S. lunar program if it were another country.
The report also said that the lunar nuclear reactor plan shows that despite the recent halt of nuclear rocket engine projects by the Pentagon, NASA will still carry out the development of space nuclear propulsion technology. Duffy said, "Although it is not listed as a budget priority, this does not mean that nuclear propulsion technology is not useful."
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