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NASA Accelerates Plan for 100 kW Lunar Nuclear Reactor by 2030

Investor rallies signal strong support for lunar fission power despite looming NASA budget and staff cuts.

An artistic rendering by NASA of a fission reactor on the moon.
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Overview

  • Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy directed NASA on July 31 to appoint a Fission Surface Power program executive within 30 days, issue RFPs within 60 days and award contracts in six months for a late-2029 reactor launch.
  • The planned reactor will generate at least 100 kW of continuous power—enough to run a small Earth subdivision—and ensure electricity through the Moon’s two-week nights.
  • NASA’s FY 2026 proposal sets aside $350 million for lunar fission power, rising to $500 million in FY 2027, even as the agency faces overall funding cuts and workforce reductions.
  • Russia and China have announced a joint lunar reactor project for the mid-2030s, intensifying the U.S. effort to secure strategic territory and potentially create exclusion zones under the Outer Space Treaty.
  • Shares of Oklo, NuScale Power and BWXT surged after Duffy’s announcement, reflecting investor confidence in small-modular reactor developers.