NASA’s acting administrator Sean Duffy is fast-tracking the agency’s plans to build a nuclear reactor on the lunar surface, a move that highlights the Trump administration’s focus on human spaceflight and establishing a long-term presence on the Moon.

In 2023, NASA awarded Lockheed Martin a contract to design, build and test a nuclear rocket that could help humans travel to Mars in about half the time compared to those currently used in spacecraft.

Spurred by competition from China and Russia, the Trump administration is pushing for nuclear power on the moon by 2030