The National Aeronautics and Space Administration<\/a> and the U.S. Department of Energy<\/a> have announced a commitment to develop a nuclear reactor on the moon<\/a> by 2030. <\/p>\n The lunar surface reactor relies on nuclear fission to power the space agency\u2019s upcoming Artemis campaign<\/a> and future missions to Mars<\/a>.<\/p>\n The agencies signed a memorandum of understanding that also aims to deploy nuclear reactors in orbit, according to NASA. <\/p>\n The president issued an executive order<\/a> in December that called for a renewed focus on the reactors and \u201cAmerican space superiority.\u201d<\/p>\n Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said he believes it will \u201cone of the greatest technical achievements in the history of nuclear energy and space exploration.\u201d <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n NASA and the Department of Energy have committed to develop a lunar nuclear reactor in just under four years (NASA)<\/p>\n \u201cUnder President Trump\u2019s national space policy, America is committed to returning to the moon, building the infrastructure to stay and making the investments required for the next giant leap to Mars and beyond,\u201d newly-confirmed NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman<\/a>, a SpaceX astronaut and friend of SpaceX founder Elon Musk, said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cAchieving this future requires harnessing nuclear power.\u201d<\/p>\n A faster timeline<\/p>\n Former Acting Administrator Sean Duffy pushed to expedite the timeline for the reactor last summer \u2013 after China and Russia announced a plan to build a nuclear reactor for a lunar base by 2035.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first country to do so could potentially declare a \u2018keep-out\u2019 zone which would significantly inhibit the United States from establishing a planned Artemis presence if not there first,\u201d Duffy warned.<\/strong><\/p>\n NASA first announced that it would put a reactor on the moon \u201cwithin a decade\u201d in 2021. By 2024, the agency said the target date for delivering a reactor to a launchpad was in the early 2030s.<\/p>\n Nuclear space reactors were first developed in the U.S. in the 1950s. <\/p>\n Fly me to the moon<\/p>\n Like nuclear reactors on Earth, the lunar reactor\u2019s fission surface power works by splitting uranium atoms inside a reactor<\/a> to generate heat that is then converted to electricity, according to the Department of Energy<\/a>.<\/p>\n The idea is that the reactor will be able to provide consistent power regardless of available sunlight or weather. <\/p>\n It will have to be able to operate for years without the need to refuel. <\/p>\n The reactors will need to be lightweight and relatively small, too, providing at least 40 kilowatts of power<\/a>: which is enough to run 30 households for a decade, NASA says.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n An artist\u2019s concept shows a fission power system on the lunar surface (NASA)<\/p>\n A moonshot?<\/p>\n![\"NASA](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/FISSION-SURFACE-POWER-SYSTEM.jpeg\")
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