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France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Space race: US aims to beat out China and Russia with nuclear reactor on the Moon
US Transportation Secretary and acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy has made installing a nuclear reactor on the Moon a top priority, Politico reported on Tuesday. The former Fox News host issued a directive to NASA staff on Thursday, describing the mission as a "second space race" – one he clearly hopes will end, like the first one in 1969, with the United States ahead of its rivals. Duffy set a firm deadline: 2029. That's when he wants the first nuclear reactor launched to the Moon, according to The New York Times. The goal is to get there before China and Russia, which have announced joint plans to build their own nuclear generator on the Moon in the early 2030s. Last May, Beijing and Moscow signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on building a reactor to be the primary power source for an 'international' lunar base, a facility the two countries are planning together. Washington now fears that if Russia or China arrives first, it could declare a 'keep-out zone', effectively limiting others from setting up operations nearby. The race to build a lunar nuclear reactor is tied to broader ambitions to establish a long-term human presence on the Moon. Washington's Artemis programme and the joint Sino-Russian project both foresee permanent bases, which would require more power than the short Apollo-era missions of the 1970s. "We need a lot of energy for future missions to the Moon," said Simon Middleburgh of the Nuclear Futures Institute at Bangor University in Wales. "To establish permanent Moon bases, we would need to be generating our own water and oxygen." But the question of what kind of energy can be used to meet lunar energy needs is still being debated. "Normally what people might expect is to use solar power," said Ian Whittaker, an astrophysicist at Nottingham Trent University. "But there's a specific challenge on the Moon: the lunar night." That night lasts the equivalent of 14 Earth days, meaning an enormous number of batteries would be required to store enough solar energy to last through it. Such a setup would be costly and extremely difficult to deliver. Nuclear power, by contrast, offers an advantage in energy density. "It's very dense, which means that a reactor the size of a small car could theoretically power a lunar base for around six years without refuelling," Middleburgh said. This has long made nuclear power one of the more practical options. "There was a lot of experimenting during the golden age of space exploration in the 1950s, '60s and '70s, and even back then, nuclear power was already being considered," said Carlo Carrelli, a nuclear energy expert at Italy's national agency for new technologies and sustainable development. "It might sound new to the general public, but it's really not." When it comes to lunar technology, size matters – the smaller, the better. "The typical nuclear installation on Earth is huge, very heavy, and provides so much power," Carrelli said. "You can't deploy something like that on the Moon as you'd need to transport thousands of tonnes of steel and concrete. Plus, it would waste a lot of energy for bases that, at least initially, will be quite small." "For now, research is focused on so-called microreactors that generate kilowatts of power rather than gigawatts, as is the case with Earth-based plants. Such structures can be transported aboard rockets," Whittaker added. NASA has already invested more than $200 million since 2000 into developing such small-scale nuclear systems, though none have yet reached flight-readiness. In 2023, the agency awarded three $5 million contracts to industry partners to study 40-kilowatt reactor concepts, enough to power 30 homes continuously for a decade. No lunar Chernobyl Transporting a scaled-down reactor is not the same as launching a nuclear power plant into orbit, but it is still likely to be an expensive operation. For one, it's unclear how many microreactors will be needed. While a single unit might suffice, backup reactors would be essential in case of failure. Experts told FRANCE 24 said it was impossible to imagine a lunar base without an alternative power source if the lights were to go out. All in all, launching and installing the reactors could cost several billion dollars, factoring in both manufacturing and delivery. But that's not the only challenge. "There will be unique technical problems due to the lack of atmosphere on the Moon," Middleburgh said. "On Earth, heat from nuclear fission is partly dissipated thanks to our atmosphere. On the Moon, we'll need alternative cooling systems." There's also the issue of gravity. "Boiling and other heat-transfer processes don't happen the same way in low gravity, which further complicates reactor cooling," Middleburgh explained. As for the possibility of a nuclear explosion in space, a Chernobyl-style disaster on the Moon is highly unlikely and more the stuff of science fiction. Experts downplayed the risk, citing the lack of oxygen as a key factor that reduces the chances of the types of chemical reactions needed for such a catastrophe. Still, many of these logistical challenges remain – even if, as Carrelli pointed out, "the microreactors themselves are relatively easy and quick to build". A lawless new frontier NASA's 2029 goal may thus seem a bit ambitious. "But not entirely unrealistic, although the early 2030s are more likely," Carrelli said. Washington's eagerness to turn the project into a full-fledged "space race" also makes geopolitical sense. "The geopolitical dimension is arguably more important than the technical challenge of building and setting up the reactors," said Whittaker. The first nation to succeed could gain a lasting advantage. "Everyone wants to be first, because there are currently no laws or treaties governing lunar colonisation," said Whittaker. "It's a bit like colonisation used to be: the first to settle could claim ownership." On the Moon, energy may translate into territory. "The idea is to install the reactors first, then argue that the lunar base must be built nearby, thereby staking a claim on the surrounding area," he added. At present, no rules exist to challenge such behaviour. "My hope as a scientist is that we can act very similarly to how we behaved under the International Space Station," Middleburgh said, where collaboration was key. Whether such a spirit of cooperation remains possible, however, is doubtful given the increasingly tense rhetoric between the United States and both China and Russia.
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
France battles largest wildfire of the year so far
06/08/2025 Hiroshima: 80 years after the first atomic bomb JAPAN 06/08/2025 Karol Nawrocki becomes Poland's president 06/08/2025 NASA races to put nuclear reactors on Moon and Mars 06/08/2025 Gabon forest cave reveals clues about prehistoric central Africa Africa 06/08/2025 Rwanda to receive 250 migrants expelled by the US Africa 06/08/2025 Cameroon court rejects opposition leader's presidential candidacy 06/08/2025 Ethiopia: Healthcare access crumbles amid Oromia conflict 06/08/2025 Colombian mercenaries seen in Sudan Africa 06/08/2025 Japan's Hiroshima remembers 80 years after first atomic attack
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Karol Nawrocki becomes Poland's president
03:46 06/08/2025 NASA races to put nuclear reactors on Moon and Mars 06/08/2025 Gabon forest cave reveals clues about prehistoric central Africa Africa 06/08/2025 Rwanda to receive 250 migrants expelled by the US Africa 06/08/2025 Cameroon court rejects opposition leader's presidential candidacy 06/08/2025 Ethiopia: Healthcare access crumbles amid Oromia conflict 06/08/2025 Colombian mercenaries seen in Sudan Africa 06/08/2025 France battles largest wildfire of the year so far 06/08/2025 Japan's Hiroshima remembers 80 years after first atomic attack 06/08/2025 China eases travel rules to boost tourism post-pandemic
