Episode 486: Moonshot or Moon Mirage? 

Today, Jess, Amy, Bishop, and Algene examine NASA’s ambitious plan to accelerate deployment of a nuclear reactor on the Moon as part of the Artemis program—aiming to power U.S. long-term lunar infrastructure and return astronauts by 2027. But NASA’s announcement comes amid budget and workforce cuts, and with NASA’s head leader lacking deep space experience.

Can the U.S. pull this off on such a tight timeline, or is this a Cold War–style moonshot without the resources to match? How critical will public–private partnerships be for U.S. space success in the future? And with China racing ahead on its own space ambitions, are we already in new space race?

Check out the sources that helped shape our Fellows’ discussions: 

https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/05/politics/moon-nuclear-reactor-us-nasa 

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/sean-duffy-nuclear-moon-nasa-space-reactors-rcna223194 

https://warontherocks.com/2025/07/eastern-stars-rising-the-rise-of-chinas-commercial-space-industry/ 

Follow our experts on Twitter: 

@NotTVJessJones

@amykmitchell

@BishopGarrison

@AlgeneSajery

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