6 August 2025 NASA announced an ambitious plan to deploy nuclear reactors on the Moon and Mars by the end of the decade, to get ahead of the joint initiative of China and Russia. Directive, signed by NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy, mandates the appointment of a nuclear energy coordinator and the selection of two commercial projects within six months, emphasizing the strategic imperative of US leadership in space.
Context and geopolitical competition
The directive emphasizes competition with China and Russia, which are from March 2024 three times announced plans to deploy a nuclear reactor on the Moon by 2033-2035 within the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). A reactor with a capacity of 0.5–1 MW, which does not require human presence, should provide power to their shared lunar base. NASA is afraid, that the first country, which will deploy the reactor, can declare a "no-go zone" around valuable resources, such as water ice at the south pole of the Moon, which will complicate the plans of the Artemis program.
Technical details and progress
NASA invested 200 million dollars from 2000 year in the development of compact nuclear reactors for space. IN 2022 three companies - Lockheed Martin, Westinghouse and IX (Intuitive Machines і X-Energy) - received contracts for 5 million dollars each to develop Fission Surface Power reactors (FSP) power 40 kW, which weigh up to 6 tons and can work 10 years. The new directive increases the requirements for 100 kW, to support long-term operations, including life support, communications and ice mining.
Unlike solar panels, which are ineffective during two-week lunar nights or Martian dust storms, nuclear reactors provide continuous power. The technology is based on Kilopower/KRUSTY experiments (2018), using uranium-235 and Stirling conversion. The reactor for the Moon is planned to be delivered by a heavy landing module (to 15 tons) to the first quarter 2030 year (September 2029). The design will be adapted for Mars without major changes, supporting NASA's plans for manned missions in the 2030s.
Challenges
- Technical: Reactors should be light, resistant to lunar regolith and cosmic radiation. Cooling, as noted by the head of Roscosmos Yuriy Borisov, remains a problem for the Russian-Chinese project.
- Regulatory: Nuclear safety and licensing for space launches are complicated, which requires cooperation with the US Department of Energy.
- Budgetary: Cutting funding for NASA science programs, such as Mars Sample Return, may limit resources. The US Congress in 2025 year approved 25,4 billion dollars for NASA, but priority is given to manned missions.
- Geopolitical: Artemis Accords, signed 54 countries, including Japan and India, compete with ILRS, which they joined 17 countries, mostly allies of China and Russia. Tension, in particular, due to the withdrawal of Russia from the International Space Station 2025 year, makes cooperation difficult.
Source: https://phys.org