NASA under Trump aims to build nuclear reactor on moon before China and Russia

The U.S. should deploy a small nuclear power plant to the surface of the moon before China and Russia are able to do so, the interim head of NASA has told the space agency's staff.

NASA should be ready to launch a reactor to the lunar surface by the first quarter of fiscal year 2030, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who is serving as the space agency's acting administrator, said in a directive to NASA dated July 31. This would work out to late 2029.

China and Russia are aiming to deploy a reactor to the moon by the mid-2030s to power a joint base, officials in Moscow and Beijing have said. The first country to deploy a reactor on the moon "could potentially declare a keep-out zone which would significantly inhibit the United States from establishing a planned Artemis presence if not there first," Duffy warned NASA. The Artemis mission is NASA's lunar exploration program, which was first announced in 2017.

NASA should issue a request for proposals to industry within 60 days, according to Duffy's directive. The reactor should be able to generate 100 kilowatts of electricity at a minimum, according to the directive. It would be transported aboard a heavy class lander with a payload of 15 metric tons.

A reactor without a 100-kilowatt output could power about 80 U.S. homes. By contrast, the average nuclear reactor in the U.S. fleet can power more than 700,000 homes.

The NASA program, called Fission Surface Power, will rely on microreactor technology, according to Duffy's directive. But no microreactor has been licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, let alone built in the U.S. President Donald Trump issued a series of executive orders in May that aim to expedite the commercialization of small nuclear reactors.

Duffy's ambitious directive comes as the Trump administration has proposed steep cuts to NASA's budget. The space agency also remains without a Senate-confirmed leader. Trump named Duffy as acting administrator after pulling his original nominee in May amid a feud with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

Politico first reported Duffy's plans to launch a nuclear reactor to the moon.