The new space race? NASA accelerates plan to put nuclear reactor on the moon

NASA is accelerating plans to put a nuclear reactor on the moon, and they claim it could happen by 2030.

In a directive - a written or oral instruction issued by the US government - to NASA staff earlier this month, Sean Duffy, US transport secretary and the new interim administrator of the space agency, said it should be ready to launch a 100 kilowatt nuclear reactor in five years. Plans to get a reactor on the lunar surface are not new.

The NASA website states the space agency is working on the Fission Surface Power Project to create a system capable of generating at least 40 kilowatts of power - but that is less than half of what Mr Duffy has now proposed. He also stressed the importance of America's space agency deploying the technology before China and Russia.

"To properly advance this critical technology, to be able to support a future lunar economy, high power energy generation on Mars, and to strengthen our national security in space, it is imperative the agency move quickly," the directive, which was first reported on by Politico, states. A nuclear reactor on the moon would be considered a key step towards building a permanent base for humans to live on the lunar surface.

But Mr Duffy warned that the first country to deploy a reactor "could potentially declare a keep-out zone" which he said could significantly inhibit NASA's Artemis mission - the lunar exploration programme which aims to land astronauts back on the moon in 2027. When quizzed about the plan on 5 August, he told reporters: "We're in a race to the moon, in a race with China to the moon.

And to have a base on the moon, we need energy." Why use a nuclear reactor? Unlike solar power, which is used on the International Space Station, a small nuclear reactor can operate continuously, Dr Sungwoo Lim, a senior lecturer in space applications, exploration and instrumentation at the University of Surrey told Sky News. This is critical for infrastructure on the moon, which spends two weeks in complete darkness as it slowly orbits the Earth.

Nuclear reactors therefore diminish the need for sunlight, and can be used to power life support, communications and other critical science instruments, even in darkness. "In practice, this means astronauts could use a reactor to establish sustainable bases and extend exploration to places where solar energy is impractical," Dr Lim adds, including in the moon's permanently shadowed region, where scientists believe ice water exists.

Professor Mike Fitzpatrick, an expert in nuclear technology at Coventry University, adds that the proposal of a 100 kilowatt nuclear reactor, is relatively small compared to most that are built on Earth. To put it in real terms, it takes around three kilowatts to power the kettle in your home.

But Prof Fitzpatrick says a smaller reactor could pose as "demonstrator technology.