Image: Rolls Royce

By Jo Nova

The Space Race is back

The new NASA chief, Sean Duffy, is set to announce urgent plans to get a very small nuclear reactor on the moon. What was going to be a 40MW microreactor in the “early 2030s” is now said to be a 100MW one launched in 2029. The reason for the rush is because three months ago China and Russia announced plans to cooperate and build their own nuclear plant on the moon in the early 2030s. They want the power to set up what they call an international lunar base. According to Politico, the fear is that the first nation to colonize the moon could declare a “keep out zone” — a quasi form of ownership that would stop another nation setting up in the same area.

Space race: US aims to beat out China and Russia with nuclear reactor on the Moon

By:Sébastian SEIBT , France 24

NASA’s interim chief Sean Duffy has made deploying a nuclear reactor on the Moon his top priority, framing the effort as a “second space race”.

Solar power isn’t much use on the moon where each […]

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August 6, 2025 at 02:25PM