NASA wants to put a nuclear power plant on the moon by 2030 — and you can help - Space.com

The reactor will help sustain future missions on the moon, Mars and beyond, according to NASA.

19, the lab is teaming up with NASA to put a "durable, high-power, sun-independent" fission reactor onto the moon within the next 10 years.

This hypothetical reactor would help turn the moon into an extraterrestrial base for human space exploration, including future manned missions to Mars, agency officials said.

"Plentiful energy will be key to future space exploration," said Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C., said in the statement.

"I expect fission surface power systems to greatly benefit our plans for power architectures for the moon and Mars and even drive innovation for uses here on Earth.".

The proposed reactor must be a uranium-powered fission reactor — that is, an apparatus that can split heavy atomic nuclei into lighter nuclei, releasing energy as a byproduct.

The request for proposals comes while NASA begins ramping up its Artemis program, which aims to create a sustainable human presence on the moon by the end of the decade.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more.