The United States space agency has pioneered planetary science technologies as the world's leader in climate research for more than 40 years, but that may be about to change.

This week on Space Beat, Rob and Space reporter Brooke Edwards discuss the NASA directive to put a nuclear reactor on the moon by the mid-2030s.

Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy has directed the agency to fast-track plans to put a nuclear reactor on the moon.

In a bold, strategic move for the U.S., acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy announced plans on August 5 to build a nuclear fission reactor for deployment on the lunar surface in 2030. Doing so would allow the United States to gain a foothold on the moon by the time China plans to land the first taikonaut,

NASA’s Artemis campaign is a bold series of missions to take humans back to the moon, and those astronauts will get there thanks to help from rocket engines mad

The samples were sealed until technology improved enough to study them. Now, they may have helped solve a lunar mystery.

In their report, Lal and Myers estimate it would cost about $800 million annually for five years to build and deploy a nuclear reactor on the Moon. Even if DoE support can prevent NASA's staffing cuts from kneecapping the project, its feasibility will hinge on if the Trump administration ponies up the cash to execute on its own bold claims.

South Korea's K-RadCube satellite has arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of its launch toward the moon on the Artemis 2 mission next year.