NASA administrator Sean Duffy seeks plan to place nuclear reactor on moon

UPI

2 days ago

Transportation Secretary and acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy sent out a directive July 31 saying he wants to fast-track putting a 100kw nuclear reactor on the moon by 2030. File Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI | License Photo
Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Sean Duffy, acting NASA administrator and secretary of transportation, wants to fast-track putting a nuclear reactor on the moon, according to a directive he sent out Thursday.
NASA already has plans to put a small nuclear reactor on the moon but this directive would create a timeline despite the agency's heavy budget cut, Politico, The New York Times and The Independent reported.
"It is about winning the second space race," said a NASA senior official, granted anonymity to discuss the documents ahead of their wider release. Politico first reported on the documents.
Duffy's directive also said he wants to replace the International Space Station more quickly than already planned by NASA. The two plans may help the United States reach Mars sooner. China is also pursuing that goal.
President Donald Trump's administration has focused on manned spaceflight and has proposed a 2026 budget that would increase funds for human spaceflight, while it pushes to cut budgets for other programs, including almost 50% for science missions.
In building the reactor, Duffy ordered NASA to solicit industry proposals within 60 days for a 100-kilowatt reactor launched by 2030. The agency is already working on a 40-kilowatt reactor for the moon, ready for launch by the 2030s. A 100-kilowatt reactor could power about 80 households in the United States.
It also called for the appointment of a NASA official to oversee the project within 30 days. China plans to land its first astronaut on the moon in 2030, which could be the reason for that deadline.
"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," Duffy said in the directive.
He said the first country to have a reactor could "declare a keep-out zone which would significantly inhibit the United States," citing a joint plan between Russia and China.
Despite the Pentagon's recent cancellation of a joint program on nuclear-powered rocket engines, NASA continues to develop nuclear power.
"While the budget did not prioritize nuclear propulsion, that wasn't because nuclear propulsion is seen as a non-worthy technology," the NASA official told Politico.
The ISS is old and leaky, so NASA intends to replace it with commercially run ones by changing how the agency awards contracts. Once a new one is in place, NASA plans to crash the old one into the ocean.
At least two companies will get a contract within six months of the request for proposals. If the new station isn't in space by 2030, only China will have a permanently crewed space station in orbit.
A nuclear reactor would be useful for long stays on the moon, but Duffy and NASA haven't made it clear what the reactor would power.
The first moon landing under NASA's Artemis program is planned for 2027, but many experts say it's unlikely. Many of the components are unproven, including the Starship lunar lander under development by SpaceX.