NASA boss calls for nuclear reactor on the Moon

NASA's Acting Administrator, Sean Duffy, has directed the US space agency to come up with a plan to deploy a nuclear reactor on the Moon.

Duffy's directive [PDF] warns about China and Russia's own intentions to put a reactor on the Moon by the mid-2030s. According to the directive, "The first country to do so could potentially declare a keep-out zone."

So the US needs to get there first.

The requirement is for a reactor with a minimum output of 100kW (driven by industry requirements). A "heavy class lander" capable of putting a payload of 15 metric tons on the surface is assumed to be available. Everything must be ready to go by the first quarter of FY30.

It's a tall order. SpaceX's Starship and Blue Origin's systems are both theoretically more than capable of landing that much mass on the lunar surface. However ...