WASHINGTON (CNN) – NASA wants the United States to be the first nation to put a nuclear reactor on the moon.
Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy has directed the space agency to fast-track plans to do just that.
Duffy, who is also the transportation secretary, explained the reasoning in a news conference on drones Tuesday.
“We are in the race, we’re in a race to the moon with China,” he said. “To have a base on the moon, we need energy. Energy is important and if we’re going to be able to sustain life on the moon to then go to Mars, this technology is critically important.”
In a directive dated last week, Duffy said China and Russia are working on plans to put a reactor on the moon in a joint project by the mid-2030s.
NASA’s Artemis 3 mission is currently planned for 2027.
The mission is expected to return humans to the surface of the moon for the first time in more than five decades.
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