With the turmoil at NASA over severe budget cuts, it’s easy to forget the space agency is trying to return astronauts to the Moon and get there before America’s geopolitical rivals. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is expected to announce plans this week for NASA to build a nuclear reactor on the Moon, throwing down another gauntlet in a new space race against China and Russia. While NASA has explored powering a moon base with a reactor since 2018, the Trump administration is accelerating plans to draw a border on the lunar surface.
Duffy’s directive orders NASA to prepare a 100-kilowatt nuclear reactor for launch by 2030, according to Politico. It might seem like an absurd prospect, but it’s a necessity for a permanent human presence on the lunar on the Moon. While the International Space Station relies on solar power, it’s not a viable form of electricity generation for long-term stays at humanity’s most exclusive campsite. A lunar day is 28 Earth days long. There are 14 days of relentless sunshine followed by 14 days of complete darkness. Nuclear power is the most effective way to generate electricity at night, 238,900 miles from the nearest coal mine.
The agency awarded three $5 million contracts back in 2022 to develop an initial design. Lockheed Martin, Westinghouse and IX were each tasked with designing a 40-kilowatt reactor with a 10-year service life that weighs less than 6.6 tons.
A reactor keep-out zone would essentially be sovereign American territory on the Moon
While the Artemis reactor development would improve nuclear power plants here on Earth and benefit the general public, Duffy’s first big splash as interim NASA Administrator is a land grab. His directive mentions that the first country to put a reactor on the Moon could “declare a keep-out zone” around the miniature power station. While it makes sense to secure the area around a running nuclear reactor, there’s no precedent for how large the exclusion zone should be. The United States could indirectly claim a swath of the Moon as the country’s sovereign territory.
Before we worry about Shackleton Crater becoming an unincorporated American territory, NASA has to get a reactor there first. The Artemis program has been plagued with delays. Artemis III, the program’s first landing, is scheduled for 2027. Development delays with SpaceX’s Starship, the mission’s contracted lander, could push the launch back even further or scrap the landing from the mission entirely. The first habitat is stated to be planted on the lunar surface during Artemis VIII in 2033. This doesn’t factor in that the White House has cancelled the Space Launch System for Artemis to shift to commercial launch partners with non-existent Moon-capable rockets. Godspeed to the lowest bidder.
China and Russia have their own plans for a lunar nuclear reactor
While the blue corner is in shambles, NASA’s opponent in the red corner is ready to pounce. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) is planning to build its own nuclear-powered moon base, with Roscosmos as a close partner. The Sino-Russian project is called the International Lunar Research Station and involves 11 other nations, a rival alliance to NASA’s Artemis Accords. Their path forward is straightforward. The uncrewed Chang’e 8 mission will scout conditions for a moon base near the lunar south pole in 2029.
Chang’e 8 will also be a dry run for the mission to land two taikonauts on the Moon by 2030. The International Lunar Research Station would be constructed over five further missions with launches on an annual basis. According to Deutsche Welle, CNSA and Roscosmos plan on building their base’s nuclear reactor by 2035. It’s safe to say that NASA astronauts would be invited over for any sleepovers at the Sino-Russian moon base.
Don’t expect NASA to get back together with Roscosmos long-term
While NASA and Roscosmos have been frequent collaborators in space since Apollo-Soyuz in 1975, the partnership has been on the ropes since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The United States now threatens to sanction countries that partner with Roscosmos. Maintaining the International Space Station is the only thing that keeps the two sides on speaking terms. Both space agencies announced last week that they have agreed to extend ISS operations until 2028.
In recent years, both roommates in low Earth orbit have jeopardized the ISS and the lives of everyone on board. Russia, a space-faring power in decline, has struggled to properly maintain its half of the station. NASA fears that a Russian transfer tunnel leaking pounds of air into space could fail catastrophically and rip the ISS apart. On the other hand, the American agency put the troubled Boeing Starliner in a position where it could have tumbled out of control into the station. Maybe Elon Musk plunging the ISS into the Pacific Ocean is for the best.
