Powering the Moon Interim NASA administrator Sean Duffy announced that President Trump wants to place a small modular reactor (SMR) on the moon by 2030. The plan aims to secure U.S. dominance in the lunar economy and counter China and Russia’s joint plans for a similar reactor by the mid-2030s.

The group also partnered with defense giant Lockheed Martin to win a NASA contract worth $5 million in 2022 to designed the first iterations of the lunar power systems. Westinghouse and Aerojet Rocketdyne, as well as a joint venture that included Boeing, were also selected.

As the race for lunar supremacy heats up, NASA, under the leadership of acting administrator Sean Duffy, is accelerating its plans to deploy a nuclear reactor on the moon. This ambitious endeavor aims to provide a reliable source of energy not only for lunar bases but also for future missions to Mars.