How to produce nuclear electricity on the moon? NASA has the solution.
Boil water on the surface of the moon, this is the somewhat crazy, but very serious idea that NASA is about to implement. Not to make tea. To produce 100 kilowatts of electricity thanks to a nuclear mini-reactor. And this time, it is not to “explore the possibilities”. It’s to go for good, and quickly. Objective displayed: to put this reactor on the moon by 2030, before China or Russia did it.
Yes, we are there: the second race at the moon has indeed started. And this time, fuel is uranium.
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NASA wants to install a nuclear reactor on the moon, but for what purpose?
Very simple. On the moon, a day lasts 29.5 earthly days. About 14 days of sun, followed by 14 days at icy night. During this lunar night, no solar panel works. It is -170 ° C. The batteries are exhausted. Survival, experimentation or communication systems? All in danger.
So to supply a inhabited lunar base, with heating, oxygen, computers, freezers and probably a coffee maker, it takes a continuous, reliable, compact source of energy. And there, nuclear does what solar cannot do: it turns 24 hours a day, without worrying about sunrise or dust storms.
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A 100 kW reactor is small … but beefy
So, 100 kilowatts, it’s not huge. This is almost what it takes to feed 33 American houses, or a well -filled tertiary building. But on the moon, without a toaster, neither air conditioning, nor Netflix, enough is enough to run an entire base: scientific equipment, survival systems, water recycling, heating, lighting, rovers, antennas.
Contrary to what one might imagine, this reactor will not look like an EDF central reduction. No cooling tower, no huge tank. It will hold in a rocket, with a tiny heart, a passive cooling system (probably sodium or gas), and an automatic start -up, once posed.
China, Russia, United States: the new energy battle is lunar
The United States is not the only ones. China and Russia provide for their own lunar base, with a nuclear reactor by 2036. The project is called it (International Lunar Research Station), and clearly targets the lunar south pole, where ice is the most abundant … So water, therefore fuel, therefore life.
Let us not forget France which also has a similar project with the pulsar consortium led by Tractebel and which could lead Europe to a lunar reactor project.
The multiplicity of projects could lead to geopolitical tensions because if a country installs a reactor first, it can very well declare an “exclusion zone” around its base. A kind of “security circle”, which it becomes difficult to cross without diplomatic incident. The expression “Keep-Out Zone” even appeared in an internal NASA directive.
In short, this reactor is not just a metal box with uranium pencils. It is a strategic totem. Whoever puts it first in hand on the resources around.
A discreet announcement … but very political
The news is out internally, just after the appointment of Sean Duffy at the head of NASA, a former transport secretary propelled there by the White House after a hiccup around the billionaire Jared Isaacman (yes, another dispute with Elon Musk).
Duffy therefore needs a strong file to establish its legitimacy, and the lunar nuclear is making the job perfectly: ambitious, spectacular, strategic. Especially in a context where the other NASA programs are likely to see their budget cut, except the inhabited spatial exploration, which remains the priority of President Trump for 2026.
Manufacturers are already in starting blocks
NASA requires that the project be entrusted to a chief within 60 days and requests concrete proposals from the industry. And as you can expect, everyone is jostling: Lockheed Martin, Rolls-Royce, Westinghouse, and even smaller private actors are ready to draw their lunar mini-reactor.
The challenge? Succeed in miniaturizing a complete nuclear system, with armor, primary circuits, exchangers, converters, in a format compatible with an orbital launch. Without forgetting absolute security: there is no question of exploding an orbit reactor.
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A small reactor for a big energy leap
This project is much more than a technological gadget. It’s a turning point. If this reactor works, it will be the first nuclear power plant installed on another celestial body. And it will also be the first step towards longer, more ambitious, more autonomous missions.
Because if we can produce electricity on the moon without depending on the sun, then we can imagine bases on Mars, research stations on frozen moons, and why not, lunar hydrogen production factories?
Source : https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/fission-system-to-power-exploration-on-the-moons-surface-and-beyond
Image: Artistic representation of an energy production system by fission to the surface of the moon. Credit: NASA
