Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy has directed the agency to fast-track plans to put a nuclear reactor on the moon.

Placing an atomic energy source on the lunar surface is “not science fiction,” experts say, but does pose technical challenges.

NASA’s Artemis campaign is a bold series of missions to take humans back to the moon, and those astronauts will get there thanks to help from rocket engines mad

In a bold, strategic move for the U.S., acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy announced plans on Aug. 5, 2025, to build a nuclear fission reactor for deployment on the lunar surface in 2030. Doing so would allow the United States to gain a foothold on the moon by the time China plans to land the first taikonaut,

T his week NASA administrator Sean Duffy declared the Trump Administration's intention to land a working nuclear fission reactor on the moon by the end of the decade. “We're in a race to the moon, in a race with China to the moon,” Duffy said.

In their report, Lal and Myers estimate it would cost about $800 million annually for five years to build and deploy a nuclear reactor on the Moon. Even if DoE support can prevent NASA's staffing cuts from kneecapping the project, its feasibility will hinge on if the Trump administration ponies up the cash to execute on its own bold claims.

Over half a year into Trump's second term, NASA still doesn't have a leader. The space agency is staring down the barrel of some devastating cuts to its science budget, with the Trump administration betting its future on space exploration alone.

So let's see what's happening with the moon tonight, Aug. 19. As of Tuesday, Aug. 19, the moon phase is Waning Crescent, and it is 16% lit up to us on Earth, according to NASA's Daily Moon Observation.