It’s all about getting to the moon first. Donald Trump’s administration has its sights on doing just that. However, the latest goal is not just to get to the moon but to arrive and stay. To achieve that, NASA is fast-tracking the production of small modular nuclear reactors to power the first American moon station. That objective has become a national security imperative, since the competitors in this new space race are Russia and China. There are locations on the moon that are valuable for research and for the exploitation of lunar resources. The United States intends to be the first there.
Liberty Nation News reported: “Russia and China plan an extravagant lunar presence of their own. Russia is building a nuclear facility to power its science and research community stationed on the Moon.” Getting there and harnessing its resources, both natural and geopolitical, is a priority for China. “The Chinese Communist Party has clearly made dominance in space a universal imperative with significant advancements in space-based technology. As it was in 1957, this should be a warning call to all those concerned about America’s national security,” observed RealClear Defense. “A recent study reports that countries like China, North Korea, Iran, India, and Japan over the past year have reached milestones in space, with record-setting launches, satellite deployments, and lunar missions.”
The first missions to the moon were inspired by a Cold War drive for global influence and status as well as scientific exploration. The need for a lunar presence is different now and in many ways more crucial. It’s more than just planting the Stars and Stripes. Previous trips have provided an abundance of mineral resources and frozen water that would propel exploration of deeper space. Sean Duffy, secretary of transportation and acting NASA administrator, told Fox News, “The Moon is a big place. There are very specific areas of the Moon that are critical, and whoever gets there first gets to plant their flag … Speed is of the essence.” Launching missions from the moon with its lower gravity would make sending rockets into space, and specifically to Mars, less costly.
In areas of the lunar body where sunlight is minimal, there is ice that can be converted into drinking water or separated into oxygen and hydrogen to be used for rocket fuel. At one-sixth the gravity of Earth, the moon presents a unique location for testing critical technologies required for any mission to Mars. However, getting there and building a base may not be the biggest challenges.
Once the lunar base infrastructure is in place, how will it be powered? Solar power is not particularly effective since the most desirable areas are in the sun’s shadow and lunar nighttime is 14 days. Extended stays on the lunar surface also require the ability to survive extreme temperature variations. According to NASA’s lunar surface data, temperatures can reach 260°F in the direct sunlight and drop to -280°F in shadows and at the poles. In permanently shadowed craters where water ice would be found, the temperature could be as low as -400°F. A more reliable energy source is vital.
At a press conference titled “Unleashing American Drone Dominance,” Duffy was questioned about plans for installing a small nuclear reactor there: “We’re in a race to the Moon, in a race with China to the Moon. And to have a base on the Moon, we need energy.” To that end, “US space agency NASA will fast-track plans to build a nuclear reactor on the Moon by 2030, according to US media,” the BBC reported. This is the centerpiece of a plan Secretary Duffy recently outlined in two memos, striving for “a renewable and stable power source to support long-term exploration,” explained Fox News.
Artemis is NASA’s core program for building a sustainable, long-term program, and the first stepping stones follow the Apollo model. Artemis II will have astronauts travel to and circle the moon. “Their mission will be to confirm all of the spacecraft’s systems operate as designed with crew aboard in the actual environment of deep space,” NASA said in its “Mission Overview.” This is scheduled for early 2026.
About a year later, Artemis III will be the first manned landing on the moon since 1972. “NASA has its sights set on locations around the South Pole for the Artemis era of human lunar exploration,” NASA said. With the United States back on the moon, great opportunities will open. However, Americans have to get there first.
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