The reactor would launch to the moon by 2030, according to a directive by Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy that was sent to NASA officials in July and obtained by NPR. It's an ambitious target that has some in the scientific community concerned about high costs and a potentially unrealistic schedule.

Nuclear reactors in space may sound like something out of science fiction, but they are likely to prove important for powering long-term space missions.

NASA has set a 2030 deadline to build a 100-kilowatt nuclear reactor on the moon. It’s an ambitious but potentially achievable goal that could transform space exploration, experts tell WIRED.