US Aims to Win Current Space Race
(MENAFN) The United States is hastening its efforts to construct a nuclear reactor on the Moon, as reported by a news agency.
Officials at NASA have reportedly been instructed to intensify their initiatives to surpass Russia and China in this emerging space competition.
A directive from acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy mandates the creation of a 100-kilowatt fission reactor designed to function on the lunar surface by 2030, according to the news agency’s Monday report.
This initiative is presented as a crucial component of a broader strategy aimed at establishing dominance in space.
“This is about winning the second space race,” a high-ranking NASA official told the publication. The US asserted victory in the initial space race against the USSR by successfully landing a crewed mission on the Moon in 1969.
The referenced document, which other media outlets have also cited, emphasizes that “it is imperative the agency move quickly” to secure the necessary technology for upcoming exploration missions and national security objectives.
The memo cautions that if another nation manages to deploy a lunar reactor first, it could “declare a keep-out zone which would significantly inhibit the United States.”
Nuclear energy is considered a breakthrough for prolonged space exploration.
Meanwhile, Russia is advancing its own orbital reactor for the Zeus nuclear-powered space tug, officially called the Transport and Energy Module.
NASA had previously sponsored the development of a 40-kilowatt lunar fission system, granting $5 million each to three companies to examine its viability.
Due to the extended lunar nights and permanently shadowed areas where solar power is unreliable, there is growing interest in alternative energy solutions.
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