The Department of Energy and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have signed a renewed memorandum of understanding, joining efforts to develop a nuclear power reactor on the moon by 2030.
The Tuesday interagency MOU affirms President Donald Trump’s space goals, outlined in the Dec. 18 executive order “Ensuring American Space Superiority”, and its collaboration on space exploration and research.
DOE and NASA plan to deploy a fission reactor that would be capable of providing baseload energy and to operate for several years without a need for a refueling, DOE said in the press release.
In NASA’s plans for a lunar reactor, which was confirmed last summer by then NASA administrator Sean Duffy, the space agency seeks a fission reactor that would provide at least 100 kilowatts and use a closed Brayton cycle power conversion system, which turns heat to electricity.
NASA issued a request for information on the space reactor Aug. 14. NASA is still reviewing industry feedback and needs additional time to integrate that into its upcoming call for partnership proposals, a NASA spokesperson told Exchange Monitor in a Wednesday emailed statement.
“Under President Trump’s national space policy, America is committed to returning to the Moon, building the infrastructure to stay, and making the investments required for the next giant leap to Mars and beyond,” now NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said.
Isaacman continued, “achieving this future requires harnessing nuclear power. This agreement enables closer collaboration between NASA and the Department of Energy to deliver the capabilities necessary to usher in the Golden Age of space exploration and discovery.”