The United States will announce plans to build a lunar nuclear reactor.

According to a report from CoinWorld, U.S. Transportation Secretary and acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy will announce an acceleration plan this week—to build a nuclear reactor on the Moon, which will be his first major policy initiative since taking over as acting head of NASA. Documents show that this plan will clarify a timeline for the first time. A senior NASA official stated, "This is about winning the second space race." Duffy has also issued a directive to expedite the replacement of the International Space Station, which is another core goal of NASA. These two initiatives will accelerate the U.S. return to the Moon and the landing on Mars. The reactor directive proposed by Duffy requires NASA to solicit proposals from the industry to build a 100 kW nuclear reactor and launch it before 2030, as a key support technology for future astronauts returning to the Moon. Previously, NASA had funded the development of a 40 kW lunar reactor, aiming to prepare for launch in the early 2030s.