NASA plans to place nuclear reactors in orbit and on the lunar surface by 2030, the agency confirmed in a memorandum of understanding signed with the Department of Energy earlier this year.
The announcement follows the successful Artemis II mission, which launched on 1 April 2026 and demonstrated the United States' operational capability to transport humans safely around the moon, the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years.
NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency is now shifting from proving it can reach the moon to building the infrastructure required to stay there.
Nuclear fission is central to that ambition because the lunar environment makes solar power unreliable; the moon's day-night cycle includes two continuous weeks of darkness during which solar panels cannot generate electricity.
A fission surface power system would deliver continuous energy regardless of sunlight or temperature, supporting habitats, rovers, scientific instruments and future resource extraction operations without refuelling for years.
The agency's earlier fission surface power programme, launched in 2020, targeted a 40-kilowatt reactor weighing no more than six metric tonnes, with three commercial teams awarded initial design contracts worth $5 million each in 2022.
A directive issued by acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy in August 2025 overhauled the programme, raising the target output to 100 kilowatts and accelerating the launch timeline to no later than the first quarter of fiscal year 2030.
The White House also ordered mid-power reactors generating around 20 kilowatts to be deployed in lunar orbit by 2028 as a stepping stone toward the larger surface system.
The urgency reflects a geopolitical contest with China and Russia, which agreed in May 2025 to build a joint nuclear reactor on the lunar surface by 2036 to power their planned International Lunar Research Station.
Duffy warned that the first nation to deploy a reactor on the moon could declare a de facto exclusion zone around prime landing sites near the lunar south pole, where water ice and consistent sunlight make long-term habitation feasible.
The Department of Energy, the Department of Defense and the Office of Science and Technology Policy have all been tasked with supporting the effort.
Engineering challenges remain significant; without an atmosphere or water, lunar reactors must radiate excess heat directly into space, and all components must withstand cosmic radiation, abrasive dust, micrometeorite impacts and low gravity conditions that alter fluid behaviour.
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The reactor would be launched cold with very low levels of radioactivity and activated only after reaching a safe orbit, according to NASA officials.
NASA's overall budget faces a proposed 25% cut under the fiscal 2026 request, from $24.8 billion to $18.8 billion, though human spaceflight programmes are earmarked for increased funding.
