Overview

• Interim NASA chief Sean Duffy will launch a 60-day solicitation for proposals to design a 100-kilowatt reactor on the Moon
• The reactor is planned to begin operations by 2030 to power habitats and systems when solar panels are offline
• The initiative is driven by strategic rivalry as China prepares its first crewed lunar mission on a similar timeline
• An internal briefing warns the first nation with a functioning lunar reactor could declare exclusion zones that limit other activities
• The reactor effort is tied to the Artemis program’s goal of returning astronauts by 2027 and faces political and schedule uncertainties