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A modern-day space race is taking shape as the U.S. tries to upend plans by Russia and China to establish the first base on the Moon. The difference this time is that the race is going nuclear. In order to have a permanent presence, America is looking at the best way to get power up there by 2030, five years ahead of rival nations, and has settled on a nuclear fission microreactor that would have an output of 100 kW.
Snapshot: Other power sources like solar are not a good option, as the Moon is dark for two weeks straight each month, with extreme temperatures that can challenge arrays and equipment. “There’s a certain part of the moon that everyone knows is the best; we have ice and sunlight there, and we want to get there first and claim that for America,” NASA’s Acting Administrator Sean Duffy declared. It’s all part of the agency’s Artemis program, which is aimed at sustaining life on the Moon to enable space exploration to expand to Mars.
Artemis II will launch in the first half of 2026, which will take four astronauts on a mission around the Moon before returning to Earth. In 2027, Artemis III hopes to pull off the first crewed Moon landing since 1972. If those are both successful, the U.S. will then begin shipping assets to the Moon’s South Pole region via unmanned missions, which would later be assembled by astronauts to establish the first human lunar base.
Stock watch: The NASA program, called Fission Surface Power, is helping energize some nuclear names back on Earth. BWX Technology (NYSE:BWXT) soared nearly 18% on Tuesday to hit fresh record highs, and earnings momentum is also helping extend the gains in the premarket session. Following closely behind are Oklo (NYSE:OKLO) and Nuscale Power (NYSE:SMR), which were called out by SA Sentiment last month as top nuclear energy stock picks. Some of the technology being developed for Artemis could bring about more recognition for the sector and help with commercialized deployment to satisfy growing power needs.