Overview
- On July 31, interim NASA chief Sean Duffy signed a directive ordering industry proposals for a 100 kW lunar reactor targeting 2030 deployment and requiring a project lead within 60 days.
- The directive also calls for bids on commercial replacements for the ISS, aiming to award at least two contracts and deploy private orbital platforms by the end of the decade.
- NASA’s push for nuclear power stems from concerns that China and Russia’s planned lunar reactor could declare exclusion zones hindering U.S. operations.
- The 100 kW goal builds on earlier NASA-funded designs for smaller 40 kW reactors awarded in 2022, marking a significant scale-up in lunar energy ambitions.
- The initiative aligns with a White House budget proposal that boosts funding for crewed spaceflight through 2026 while proposing steep cuts to scientific and climate programs.