Overview

• The directive from interim NASA Administrator Sean Duffy calls for industry designs of a 100 kilowatt lunar fission reactor ready for launch by 2030 to support Artemis bases and Mars missions.
• The request follows China and Russia’s joint plan for a 2035 lunar reactor and warns that the first nation to deploy nuclear power on the Moon could establish exclusion zones under the Outer Space Treaty.
• NASA must overcome reactor miniaturization and ruggedization challenges and depends on heavy-lift launch vehicles and landers that have yet to prove reliability, with SpaceX’s Starship still in testing.
• Proposed federal budget cuts of around 24 percent threaten to slash funding for reactor development and other science priorities, prompting experts to question the feasibility of the accelerated timeline.
• Space law specialists emphasize adherence to Article IX of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and UN nuclear guidelines, arguing that transparent governance will shape safe and equitable rules for lunar infrastructure.