Washington, DC [US], August 7 (ANI): The United States is in a new space race with China to claim the most resource-rich part of the Moon, according to NASA’s interim administrator Sean Duffy, who announced plans to install a nuclear reactor on the lunar surface by 2030.
“We’re in a race to the Moon, in a race with China to the Moon. And to have a base on the Moon, we need energy,” Duffy said during a press conference on Tuesday (local time) titled “Unleashing American Drone Dominance,” held by the U.S. Department of Transportation, which he also heads.
Duffy emphasized that energy is crucial for establishing a permanent lunar base, explaining that he wants to place a 100-kilowatt nuclear reactor on the Moon within the next five years. He noted that such a reactor would produce about the same amount of electricity a typical U.S. household consumes in 3.5 days.
He also pointed out that there is a specific region on the Moon that is particularly valuable and that both the United States and China are competing to secure it. “There’s a certain part of the Moon that everyone knows is the best,” Duffy said. “We have ice there. We have sunlight there. We want to get there first and claim that for America.”
Water ice and continuous sunlight make specific areas near the Moon’s south pole especially ideal for establishing a permanent base. These natural resources are critical for sustaining human life and generating energy.
Duffy also addressed public concerns about the safety of launching nuclear material into space. He clarified that the reactor would not be active during the launch from Earth. “We’re not launching this live. That’s obviously — if you have any questions about that — no, we’re not launching it live,” he said.
Reflecting on NASA’s current Artemis lunar program, Duffy acknowledged that it hasn’t captured the public’s imagination in the same way the historic Apollo missions of the 1960s and 70s once did.
“A lot of people don’t even know what Artemis is. Everyone knew what Apollo was. We all knew. The whole world knew what Apollo was. We were going to the Moon. Artemis is — we’re going back,” Duffy said. (ANI)
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