WASHINGTON D.C. – NASA is poised to announce plans for a nuclear reactor to be deployed on the lunar surface, a move intended to power sustained human presence and scientific operations during extended lunar missions, according to a report by the German News Agency (dpa).
Acting NASA Director Sean Duffy is expected to detail the initiative in the coming days. The advancement marks a meaningful escalation in NASA’s commitment to lunar power solutions, following years of similar proposals from Russia. NASA’s research into space nuclear technologies has been gaining momentum, notably through collaborations with the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL), which specializes in microreactor technology.
The reactor is designed to address a critical challenge of lunar exploration: the extended lunar night,lasting approximately 14 Earth days,during which solar power is unavailable. A reliable, consistent energy source is vital for life support systems, scientific instruments, and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) efforts – particularly the extraction of water ice from permanently shadowed craters at the lunar south pole, a key objective of the Artemis program.
This initiative is central to the artemis program, aiming to return humans to the moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. NASA currently targets a crewed lunar landing in 2027, though the schedule has faced multiple delays.The planned landing site is the shackleton Crater, located at the lunar South Pole.
The future of the Artemis program, and consequently the lunar reactor project, remains subject to political considerations. While the Biden governance has expressed support for Artemis, continued funding and prioritization will be crucial. The project’s estimated cost is currently undisclosed, but similar space nuclear reactor development programs have been budgeted in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The reactor being considered is a Kilopower-class reactor, capable of generating up to 10 kilowatts of power – enough to support a small lunar base.
