U.S. to build nuclear reactor on Moon by 2030, cost unknown

By Brett Rowland
The Center Square

The U.S. plans to build a nuclear reactor on the moon by 2030 to prepare for future missions to Mars.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the U.S. Department of Energy will work together to develop a lunar surface reactor. The agreement advances President Donald Trump’s plan for space superiority, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said.

“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,” he said. “Achieving this future requires harnessing nuclear power.”

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said the project “will be one of the greatest technical achievements in the history of nuclear energy and space exploration.”

The goal is to build the reactor and have it operational by 2030.

A cost estimate wasn’t immediately available. A NASA spokesperson said funding for the nuclear project is part of ongoing agency budget work.

NASA and DOE said the fission surface power system would “produce safe, efficient, and plentiful electrical power that will be able to operate for years without the need to refuel.”

“The deployment of a lunar surface reactor will enable future sustained lunar missions by providing continuous and abundant power, regardless of sunlight or temperature,” according to NASA.

Overall, the multi-stage Artemis program could cost more than $100 billion. NASA’s acting inspector general told Congress in 2024 that he expected the agency’s total Artemis campaign costs to reach $93 billion between fiscal years 2012 and 2025.

The inspector general also projected the SLS/Orion system and related ground launch infrastructure will cost at least $4.2 billion per launch for the first four Artemis missions. That does not include $42 billion in formulation and development costs spent over the past 12 years.