National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to deploy nuclear reactors on the Moon by 2030

Key facts

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) aims to place nuclear reactors on the Moon by 2030 through its Fission Surface Power Project.
• NASA plans to launch a medium-power reactor into orbit by 2028.
• The Fission Surface Power Project will be a joint effort between NASA, the US Department of Energy, and the Department of Defence.
• The White House Office of Science and Technology (OSTP) has shared guidelines for federal agencies to develop a roadmap for space nuclear technology.
• The Fission Surface Power Project is expected to have a design capacity of 40-100 kilowatts of electricity.
• The NASA Artemis II mission includes astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Jeremy Hansen.
• Nuclear power is being prioritised over solar power because a single lunar night lasts approximately 14 Earth days, and solar panels cannot function in permanently shadowed regions such as the lunar south pole.
• The project is intended to strengthen the US space technology position relative to China and Russia and serve as a test bed for future crewed missions to Mars.