Sean Duffy Says Trump Admin ‘In a Race’ To Take Over the Moon
Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo & Onur Dogman/NurPhoto via AP
President Donald Trump’s acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy directed the government to “move quickly” to build nuclear reactors on the moon, according to a memo documenting the Trump administration’s plans to beat China in a new space race.
According to ABC News, which obtained a copy of the directive issued by Duffy – who also serves as the Secretary of Transportation – the Trump administration considers “nuclear power on the moon” to be “critical to the United States’ space exploration and national security goals,” prompting Duffy to direct the government to “move quickly” to beat China to the punch.
“Since March 2024, China and Russia have announced on at least three occasions a joint effort to place a reactor on the Moon by the mid-2030s,” warned Duffy. “The first country to do so could potentially declare a keep-out zone which would significantly inhibit the United States from establishing a planned Artemis presence if not there first.”
During a press conference on Tuesday, Duffy announced, “We’re in a race to the moon, in a race with China to the moon.”
He added, “And to have a base on the moon, we need energy, and some of the key locations on the moon, we’re going to get solar power. But this vision technology is critically important, and so we’ve spent hundreds of millions of dollars studying.”
“Can we do it? We are now going to move beyond studying, and we are going,” the acting NASA administrator concluded. “We have given direction to go. Let’s start to deploy our technology, to move to actually make this a reality.”
Former NASA administrator Bill Nelson also warned during the Biden administration that Russia and China were planning to build a base on the moon.
“We must be very concerned about China landing on the moon and saying: It’s ours now and you stay out,” said Nelson.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry accused Nelson of “smearing China” with his “irresponsible remarks,” describing the claim as “slander.”
