The reactor would launch to the moon by 2030, according to a directive by Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy that was sent to NASA officials in July and obtained by NPR. It's an ambitious target that has some in the scientific community concerned about high costs and a potentially unrealistic schedule.

NASA is fast-tracking plans to deploy a nuclear reactor on the lunar surface by 2030 as a strategic imperative to prevent Chinese dominance.

President Donald Trump’s transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, has ordered NASA to build a nuclear reactor on the moon, just weeks after being named interim head of the space agency. Duffy’s appointment as NASA’s chief administrator came after Elon Musk’s pick for the post,