NASA, DOE Commit to 100-Kilowatt Lunar Reactor by 2030 as Mars Nuclear Demo Targets 2028
Updated
Updated · spacedaily.com · May 25
NASA, DOE Commit to 100-Kilowatt Lunar Reactor by 2030 as Mars Nuclear Demo Targets 2028
5 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · May 25
A January 2026 memorandum commits NASA and the Department of Energy to develop a lunar fission reactor delivering at least 100 kilowatts, with launch readiness due by the first quarter of 2030.
NASA will manage and fund the program, while DOE provides regulatory oversight, design support and about 400 kilograms of high-assay low-enriched uranium for testing and the flight unit.
The reactor’s target output is more than double the 40-kilowatt level in NASA’s 2022 fission surface power work, and former NASA officials estimate development will cost roughly $3 billion over five years.
A parallel track aims to launch the SR-1 Freedom nuclear electric propulsion demonstrator in 2028, supporting longer-term crewed Mars plans by testing faster interplanetary transport.
The push is framed partly by competition with China and Russia, whose own lunar reactor plans have raised U.S. concerns that early nuclear infrastructure could create de facto exclusion zones on the moon.
With Russia banned as a supplier, can the U.S. create a nuclear fuel pipeline fast enough for its 2030 lunar reactor deadline?
If America’s lunar reactor is built first, what new rules will govern the final frontier and its strategic resources?
What are the unaddressed risks of operating the first nuclear fission reactor in the Moon's harsh, airless environment?