As he announced at the Duffa press conference, NASA – which has so far studied the possibility of the reactor's construction on the moon – has now been ordered to start work.
– We are in a race to the moon, in the race with China. And to have a base on the moon, we need energy – he said. As he explained, although in some places it will be possible to collect energy from the sun, the construction of the reactor will also be needed.
According to ABC News, Duffy published two directives, in which he ordered the acceleration of work to build a reactor in front of Russia and China.
“From March 2024, China and Russia announced at least three times joint actions aimed at placing the reactor on the moon until the mid -1930s” – wrote the minister in the document cited by ABC.
Vision of the “closed zone” announcement. In the background, Artemis mission
“The first country that would do this could potentially announce a closed zone, which would significantly hinder the United States to establish a planned presence within the Artemis mission, if they don't do it before.”
Reactors that would be on the moon are so -called SMR, or small modular reactors. According to the plans, which is referred to by the Politico portal, a 100 kilowat reactor would stand on the surface of the moon by 2030. The permanent presence of people on the moon is to establish a series of Artemis mission.
