politics
White House Releases Memo Outlining U.S. Plans for Lunar Nuclear Reactors by 2030
The Trump administration issued a six-page memo outlining plans for a nuclear reactor on the Moon’s surface by 2030. The document, released by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, details deployments in lunar orbit by 2028 and emphasizes nuclear energy for U.S. space efforts. It cites a prior executive order and international developments.
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# Trump Administration Releases Memo on Nuclear Reactor Plans for Moon by 2030 WASHINGTON (Substrate) -- The Trump administration released a six-page memo on Tuesday detailing plans for a nuclear reactor on the Moon’s surface by 2030, Fox News reported. The memo was released by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. U.S.
efforts in space exploration, commerce, and defense applications. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy wrote on X that nuclear power in space will give sustained electricity, heating, and propulsion essential to a permanent presence on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The memo outlines plans to deploy mid-power nuclear reactors in the Moon’s orbit by 2028.
Each nuclear power reactor will be designed to provide 20 kilowatts of energy and generate power for at least three years in orbit. Lunar surface-based nuclear reactors will provide energy for at least five years. The Department of War, Department of Energy, NASA, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy have been tasked with meeting the White House’s goals of deploying nuclear reactors on the Moon’s surface and in the Moon’s orbit.
The memo cited President Donald Trump’s December 2025 executive order titled Ensuring American Space Superiority.
A NASA administrator wrote on X that the time has come for America to get underway on nuclear power in space.
U.S. to build a nuclear reactor on the moon before China does. NASA's Artemis II moon rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-B on April 1, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, two weeks before the memo’s publication.
Artemis II was designed to test the Orion spacecraft’s deep-space navigation, manual piloting capabilities, and life support systems. The mission launched two weeks before the memo’s publication.
