NASA Is Already Prepping To Build Trump A Nuclear Reactor On The Moon

Forbes

Why NASA administrator Sean Duffy’s atomic directives are not that outlandish.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2025/08/07/nasa-is-already-prepping-to-build-trump-a-nuclear-reactor-on-the-moon/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, NASA is already prepping to build Trump a nuclear reactor on the moon.

00:08This past week, NASA Administrator Sean Duffy declared the Trump administration's intention

00:13to land a working nuclear fission reactor on the moon by the end of the decade.

00:18Duffy said, quote,

00:20We're in a race to the moon, in a race with China to the moon.

00:25Planting reactors is more effective than planting a flag in the lunar dust.

00:30Duffy referenced the idea of a, quote,

00:32keep-out zone around a reactor that effectively lays claim to a desirable area,

00:37like craters holding frozen water.

00:40So does Duffy's five-year timetable seem too aggressive?

00:43Not particularly, when you consider that NASA and its many contractors

00:47have been relying on atomic power for a long time.

00:51Since the 1960s, NASA has powered Apollo missions, space probes, and Martian landers

00:57using radioisotopic batteries that turn the heat emitted by plutonium-238

01:02and other decaying isotopes into electricity.

01:06The Apollo devices are still on the moon.

01:08And those on Voyager and Pioneer probes

01:11were the first man-made objects to leave the solar system.

01:14But those devices only put out 100 watts or less.

01:18The nuclear fission reactors, like what Duffy is talking about, are far more complicated.

01:22They generate heat by splitting apart uranium-238 and would put out 100 kilowatts.

01:29That's only enough electricity for a couple dozen homes on Earth.

01:33You'd need a lot of them to power a moon base.

01:36But let's backtrack.

01:37Do we need nuclear on the moon?

01:40A decade ago, NASA decided the answer was yes.

01:44Nighttime lasts for 14 Earth days in many lunar locations,

01:47making solar panels unreliable.

01:50And you can't burn oil, coal, or gas in a vacuum,

01:53even if you could get it into orbit.

01:56NASA first validated micro-reactor tech via something called the Kilopower Project,

02:01then in 2022, gave $5 million grants to three consortia to perfect 40 kilowatt designs.

02:08The specifications of the fission surface power project,

02:11called for a system that weighs just 6 tons,

02:13can fit into a cylinder 13 feet in diameter and 20 feet long,

02:18and can work for 10 years, self-regulated,

02:21with no maintenance or refueling required.

02:24It's a tough remit, says Sebastian Corbusiero,

02:27the National Technical Director for Space Reactors at the Idaho National Lab,

02:32whose team selected the companies for the year-long NASA study.

02:35He says, quote,

02:36Corbusiero does believe a lunar reactor is an important and necessary first step

02:50to developing systems that could sustain a Martian colony.

02:54As his research group found in 2023,

02:56quote,

02:57surface nuclear power is required for a sustainable lunar presence.

03:02The three consortia Corbusiero's group selected for the 2022 contract

03:06are Lockheed Martin with BWXT,

03:10a team that had already been working for NASA on Draco,

03:13a $500 million demonstration spacecraft powered by a nuclear reactor.

03:18Then there's veteran reactor builder Westinghouse,

03:21partnered with Aerojet Rocketdyne,

03:23which plans to adapt its existing E-Vinci microreactor.

03:27The third is startup X-Energy,

03:30teamed with Maxar and Boeing.

03:32X-Energy is working on microreactor projects for Dow Chemical and Amazon,

03:36but aims to use its own non-standardized fuel source

03:39rather than the standardized HALU fuel,

03:42which stands for High Assay, Low Enriched Uranium,

03:45that NASA directives call for.

03:48Corbusiero is diplomatic and won't speculate

03:50on which company approach he prefers.

03:53The final system is likely to use a Stirling engine

03:56to convert fission heat into electricity

03:58and feature meltdown-proof liquid sodium circulation.

04:02When asked whether we can get one on the moon in five years,

04:05he says, quote,

04:06yes, in my opinion, it is doable.

04:10It will depend, however,

04:12on continued development of the rest of the Artemis flight system,

04:15the first crewed mission Artemis II,

04:17is scheduled for early 2026,

04:19and whether NASA can get the money.

04:22On Earth, microreactors cost billions.

04:26According to Duffy,

04:27the Trump administration thinks America can't afford

04:29not to plant reactors on the moon as soon as possible.

04:33China is planning its Chang'e-8 mission in 2029

04:36to test out methods for building a lunar base

04:38with robots and 3D printers by the mid-2030s.

04:42Duffy says both China and the US want to monopolize

04:45the best lunar real estate near the poles,

04:48where the sun always shines.

04:50Duffy says, quote,

04:51we have ice there, we have sunlight there,

04:53we want to get there first and claim that for America.

04:57For full coverage,

04:58check out Christopher Hellman's piece on Forbes.com.

05:03This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

05:05Thanks for tuning in.

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