President Donald Trump wants to see deployment of a nuclear power reactor on the moon by 2030, according to a recent executive action.
In the Dec. 18 executive order 14369, “Ensuring American Space Superiority”, the Trump White House called for Americans to return to the moon by 2028 through NASA’s Artemis Program, a program centered around exploring the moon for scientific discovery.
The order also seeks to advance efforts to safeguard against potential threats from space-based nuclear weapons.
Last summer, Sean Duffy, secretary of transportation and then acting NASA administrator, confirmed there are plans to deploy a nuclear reactor on the moon. The reactor directive ordered NASA to seek a fission reactor that would provide at least 100 kilowatts and use a closed Brayton cycle power conversion system, which turns heat to electricity.
The space agency issued a request for information on the space reactor on Aug. 14.
The administration wants to establish “initial elements of a permanent lunar outpost by 2030 to ensure a sustained American presence in space and enable the next steps in Mars exploration,” according to the order. The moon reactor would help power lunar operations and aid in establishing long-term lunar bases.
In addition to nuclear power for space exploration, the order also calls for developing new missile defense technologies by 2028 to augment America’s air and missile defenses under Executive Order 14186 of Jan. 27, 2025 (The Iron Dome for America).
This includes a “technology plan for detecting, characterizing, and countering potential adversary placement of nuclear weapons in space,” according to the order.
In accordance with the push for nuclear energy to power lunar operations, within 60 days of the executive action, Trump ordered the assistant to the president for science and technology to draft guidance for a National Initiative for American Space Nuclear Power.