NASA races to put nuclear reactors on Moon and Mars
France 24 · Just In
France 24
Just In
The U.S. aims to deploy nuclear power reactors on the Moon and Mars, targeting the first launch by decade’s end. A new NASA directive, revealed by Politico and AFP, calls for appointing a nuclear power czar to choose two commercial proposals within six months, aiming to outpace a Chinese-Russian collaboration.
Breakdown
- NASA is advancing plans to build a small nuclear reactor for the moon. 7s
- The reactor is intended to generate at least 100 kilowatts of electricity for lunar missions. 48s
- Competition from China and Russia is driving urgency for the US project. 33s
- The reactor is part of the Artemis mission to establish a permanent human presence on the moon. 1m 4s
- NASA faces a significant budget cut, and key technologies for the mission remain untested. 1m 25s