The Trump administration is advancing plans to deploy a nuclear reactor on the moon by 2030 to power a lunar base for humans. Concerns have arisen regarding the high costs and feasibility of the timeline. This initiative is part of America's objective to reclaim its leadership in space exploration, mimicking similar aspirations from China and Russia. With traditional solar power insufficient for long-term lunar habitation, a nuclear reactor of at least 100 kilowatts electric output is proposed to ensure a reliable energy source for sustaining life on the moon.
Using nuclear energy as a power source on the moon is necessary to sustain life there and the U.S. is behind in its efforts, according to Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy.
There's a certain part of the moon that everyone knows is the best. We have ice there. We have sunlight there. We wanna get there first and claim that for America, said Sean Duffy.
The sun sets on the moon for two weeks. You have to have another source of energy: The sun and batteries do not work. We're going to have to have nuclear power, stated Roger Myers, an expert on space-based nuclear power.
NASA wants to launch a nuclear reactor of at least 100 kilowatts electric output which would generate less power than typical nuclear reactors in the U.S.
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