The United States Secretary of Transportation will announce this week the future construction of a nuclear reactor on the Moon
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The United States Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, was nominated by President Trump and has recently assumed the role of acting administrator of the NASA and, in his first major initiative, will announce plans this week to build a nuclear reactor on the Moon.
The measure, which would mark a significant shift in the country's space roadmap, comes at a time when the agency is facing major budget cuts and is seeking to reaffirm its leadership in the face of growing competition from China and Russia.
According to recently obtained documents, the plan sets a clearer timeline to deploy a 100-kilowatt reactor on the lunar surface before 2030.
El secretario de Transporte de los Estados Unidos anunciará el proyecto esta semana
Trump wants to win the second space race.
The new directive orders the agency to open a process to receive proposals from the space industry within 60 days and appoint a project manager. The reactor would be essential for future crewed missions to the satellite, enabling a stable power supply in extreme environments.
A senior NASA official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, commented that the measure responds to the need to "win the second space race," referring to the renewed global interest in lunar and Martian exploration.
The document explicitly mentions the risk that China and Russia could establish exclusion zones on the Moon if they arrive first with nuclear technology, which would limit the operational capacity of the United States in future missions.
La NASA señaló su objetivo de ganar la segunda carrera espacial a China y Rusia
Human missions in space will be prioritized.
The Trump administration has prioritized crewed spaceflights, with the proposed 2026 budget reflecting that orientation; funding for human missions to space will be increased, while scientific programs will face cuts of up to 50%.
This reorientation is also reflected in another announcement promoted by Duffy: the urgent renovation of the International Space Station (ISS), which is currently aging and facing structural problems.
NASA plans to replace the ISS with commercial stations managed by private companies by awarding at least two contracts in the next six months with the goal of having an operational station in orbit by 2030. If that goal is not achieved, China would be the only country with a permanently crewed space station in operation.
El presidente Trump ha establecido la prioridad de aumentar la frecuencia de las misiones espaciales
The future of NASA under Trump is promising.
Several companies have already shown interest in developing these stations, including Axiom Space, Vast, and Blue Origin.
Regarding nuclear technology, although the Pentagon recently canceled a joint program with NASA for the development of nuclear rocket engines, the space agency has not abandoned the technology. ''The lack of budgetary priority doesn't mean that nuclear propulsion is an invalid technology,'' the NASA official clarified.
Although Duffy assumed the position as NASA administrator recently, the Trump official has already caused great expectations in his role, something that is supported by these decisions to demonstrate his intention to directly influence the formulation of space policies.
