SPACE RACE 2: That Old ‘Nuke The Moon’ Line Just Got A Wild Trump-Era Twist

We choose to take this next step on the moon, not because it’s easy, but because it is hard.

Sean Duffy may be the interim NASA director while the clown show in the Senate stalls the appointment of permanent leaders, but if you think he’s just keeping a seat warm like some kind of a substitute teacher, you’re off by about 180 degrees.

The same guy who took charge of the crumbling air traffic control system and initiated a move toward modernization and improved safety is bringing that same bold approach to America’s space mission.

Transportation Secretary and interim NASA Administrator Sean Duffy outlined the space agency’s fast-track plan to build a nuclear reactor on the moon on Tuesday… before making another big announcement about moving to retake the lead in an Earth-borne technology. (See end of article)

“We’re in a race to the moon, in a race with China to the moon. 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 fission technology is critically important, and so we’ve spent hundreds of million [of] dollars studying,” Duffy said during a Department of Transportation (DOT) press conference.

“Can we do it? We are now going to move beyond studying, and we are going to be given direction to go,” Duffy added. “Let’s start to deploy our technology to move to actually make this a reality.”

Duffy said that the reactor will have to generate 100 kilowatts of output.

“That’s the same amount of energy a 2,000-square-foot home uses every three and a half days. So we’re not talking about massive technology,” he stated. “We’re not launching this live.” — TheHill

Those of us who were either around for, or have taken an interest in the first Space Race set off by Russia’s launch of Sputnik realize that the spirit of competition drove an immense amount of innovation in a short period of time. There was an urgency. We were on the clock, and if we didn’t someone else would.

We’re now pivoting to the next step in Space travel, a topic that had fallen off pretty well everyone’s radar apart from a guy named Elon and his team, was announced in Trump’s first term. A return to the moon after more than a decade of thumbing a ride into space from our Old Rival.

Then along came Trump, with a vision of making America Great Again

He announced the re-launch of the Moon missions, he created the Space Force, he is taking notes from Israel’s Iron Dome and its sister programs and integrating it into national defence, and now…? He’s taking concrete steps toward a long-held goal of a permanent presence on the Moon’s surface, giving us a staging area to go much further still.

And if they’re headed for the Shakelton crater? There’s a good chance they will find some ice there, which opens up a whole world of other options, from a source of breathable air for lunar bases, to water, to elements that could be harnessed for rocket refueling.

As we said, he’s not sitting as some kind of substitute teacher. While Schumer’s senators do everything they can to slow-walk Trump’s appointees, those who have confirmed have been matching pace with the guy who appointed them, and are getting the job done.

Ukraine and the Middle East have shown us the importance of drones in both civilian and military applications. It’s not a technology we want to lag behind with.