In late August, NASA asked contractors to prepare a nuclear reactor capable of surviving spaceflight and operating without maintenance near the Moon's south pole. The agency expects to launch it by December 2030.
The reason for the haste is the plans of Russia and China. Moscow intends to commission a lunar reactor by 2036 as part of a partnership with Beijing. The Russian project, called Selena, is to supply power to stations led by China.
Solar panels cannot cope with the two-week lunar nights and sharp temperature swings from plus 130 to minus 334 degrees Fahrenheit. A nuclear source promises stable operation in such conditions.
The Russian Selena reactor is designed for up to 10 kilowatts and will be able to operate autonomously for ten years. It is partly based on technologies previously developed for Arctic conditions.
The American Lunar Reactor 1 is planned to produce 20 kilowatts — roughly what 16 American homes consume — and to run for five years without intervention. NASA is accelerating the schedule, fearing that the Russian-Chinese reactor will create a de facto exclusion zone on the Moon.
The race is for the future of space exploration. The United States and China are striving to be the first to establish a permanent base, extract resources such as frozen water, and launch missions farther into the Solar System. Control over lunar assets plays a key role here.
As a first step, NASA plans to use nuclear power to propel a spacecraft toward Mars as early as December 2028. But will any of the race's participants be the first to secure a presence at the south pole?
International agreements prohibit placing nuclear weapons in space, but the use of nuclear power sources is permitted if safety standards are observed. The projects of both sides are still at the stage of preparation and attracting contractors.
