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3w ago

NASA Accelerates Plan to Deploy 100 kW Nuclear Reactor on Moon by 2030

A July directive sets strict procurement deadlines under a rising budget from $350 million in fiscal 2026 to $500 million annually

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

  • The directive mandates a program executive be appointed within 30 days; industry proposals solicited within 60 days; contracts awarded to two providers within six months.
  • NASA aims for a late-2029 lunar launch of a 100 kW small modular reactor to provide continuous power through two-week lunar nights.
  • Proposed funding allocates $350 million for fiscal 2026 and increases to $500 million annually from fiscal 2027 to support reactor development.
  • Three 2022 Fission Surface Power grant consortia—Lockheed Martin/BWXT/Creare, Westinghouse/Aerojet Rocketdyne and X-Energy/Maxar/Boeing—are competing for full-scale development contracts.
  • The push for lunar nuclear power responds to China–Russia plans for a joint reactor by the mid-2030s and seeks to secure US influence near water-ice deposits under the Outer Space Treaty.