The United States wants to accelerate the construction of a nuclear reactor on the moon. The Americans are closely monitoring similar plans by China and Russia and fear that those countries will ‘occupy’ an area on the moon in the future.
That’s according to American media such as The New York Times and Politico, based on sources within NASA. Interim director Sean Duffy will announce the plans of the American space agency later this week, the media write.
The nuclear reactor should be ready in 2030. Critics are already questioning the feasibility of the plan, because NASA is undergoing a huge austerity operation. Almost four thousand employees have to leave.
According to BBC News, scientists are also critical because the plans exacerbate the ‘space race’. China, Russia, the United States and countries like Japan and India are trying to find out what can be gained on the moon as quickly as possible.
China and Russia already announced a plan for “the largest base on the moon” in 2021. That research station will be permanently manned. A base station should be in place in 2035 and the project should be completed in 2050. In April of this year, it was announced that China is “considering” building a nuclear reactor on the moon to provide energy to the research station.
The plans for a nuclear reactor did not come out of nowhere. According to scientists, nuclear energy is one of the best energy sources on the moon. Relying on solar energy seems a lot more complicated due to the moon’s orbit around the earth. As a result, the moon is regularly shrouded in darkness for weeks.
‘Nuclear reactor is crucial’
According to Duffy, the nuclear reactor is “crucial” to support further technology on the moon. “With it, we can protect a future ‘lunar economy’ and our national security in space,” The New York Times quotes from a report by Duffy.
The nuclear reactor must be able to generate at least 100 kilowatts. It is a modest amount of energy: an average wind turbine generates about 2 to 3 megawatts. Yet the nuclear reactor should make long-term lunar missions possible. US President Donald Trump would like to focus more on manned flights to Mars.