Absurdity
NASA And DoE's Lunar Nuclear Reactor Is One YouTube Video Away From Starting
By Michael Yappaport, . BSN Network. Satire.
NASA announced this week that it has partnered with the Department of Energy to develop a nuclear fission reactor capable of powering a sustained human presence on the Moon, describing the effort as progressing steadily and declining to elaborate on what that meant.
The Department of Energy, which currently oversees the United States' existing inventory of aging nuclear infrastructure, deferred to NASA. NASA deferred to the future.
This is the agency that couldn't keep a foam tile from destroying a shuttle now asking the people who spent forty years figuring out what to do with Hanford to please also handle the Moon. Together. In space. With nuclear material. Steady progress.
NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration Dr. Evelyn Hartwell said in a statement that the collaboration represents, quote, 'a foundational step in humanity's enduring journey to establish a persistent and capable presence beyond low-Earth orbit through resilient, long-duration power generation architectures.' She was asked what that meant. The statement did not include a follow-up statement.
The fission surface power project, known internally as FSP and externally as nothing because nobody has heard of it, aims to deliver a 10-kilowatt reactor to the lunar surface by the early 2030s. Ten kilowatts. That is enough to power approximately four American homes, assuming those homes are on the Moon and have not asked for air conditioning.
Sources familiar with the program confirmed that a reactor has not been built. A launch vehicle for the reactor has not been selected. A landing site for the reactor has not been finalized. The Moon has been located and its position is considered unlikely to change, which NASA described as 'an area of strength.'
The Department of Energy's contribution to the project is described as 'technical expertise,' which is the phrase both agencies use when neither wants to go first.
For context, the DoE's most recent high-profile nuclear project, the Vogtle Plant expansion in Georgia, came in eleven years late and sixteen billion dollars over budget, which project managers at the time also described as steady progress, right up until it wasn't.
NASA has been working on lunar power concepts since at least 2018, which means the reactor is currently six years old in the sense that a conversation about a deck is six years old: the idea exists, the enthusiasm is real, nobody has touched a board.
When asked for a demonstration, a prototype, a rendering, or a napkin sketch, NASA provided a press release describing the partnership as 'an exciting new chapter.' The chapter has no pages yet but the font has been selected and everyone agrees it reads well.
The Moon is approximately 238,855 miles away. The reactor is approximately that far from existing.
The story we are making fun of: https://www.theregister.com/offbeat/2026/10/08/nasa-taps-doe-to-help-it-build-nuclear-space-reactors/5302096