The Trump administration will reportedly announce plans later this week to build a nuclear reactor on the moon, according to Politico.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Interim Administrator Sean Duffy will reportedly announce the expedited plan as part of “winning the second space race,” according to Politico, which cited documents and an anonymous senior NASA official. Duffy’s order would reportedly direct NASA to seek industry proposals for launching a lunar nuclear reactor by 2030, accelerating NASA’s previously stated goal of deploying a reactor on the moon by the early 2030s.
The first country to have a reactor on the moon could “declare a keep-out zone which would significantly inhibit the United States,” the directive reportedly reads.
Duffy will also reportedly direct an expedited replacement of the International Space Station, have NASA pick a leader for the lunar moon base effort and get industry feedback within 60 days, according to Politico.
“While the budget did not prioritize nuclear propulsion, that wasn’t because nuclear propulsion is seen as a non-worthy technology,” the unnamed NASA official told Politico.
China also has ambitions to expand space technology and is aiming to land astronauts on the moon by 2030. Both China and Russia have reportedly considered partnering on a similar lunar nuclear reactor project by the mid-2030s, a timeline the U.S. reportedly hopes to beat, according to Politico.
The DOT, the White House and NASA did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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