12/12/2025
On the 19th of December 1972, Apollo 17 returned back to Earth, ending the moon-program. With six landings completed, the United States had proven its technological superiority over the USSR. The space race seemed over, budgets were cut, and for fifty years the Moon fell silent. That silence is now ending. China, Russia, and the US are engaged in a new lunar contest. This time, the race is not merely to reach the Moon first, but to remain there. At its center stands an old idea reborn: harnessing nuclear power to keep humanity’s outpost alive through the long lunar night.
The New Space Race: Building the First Nuclear-powered Moon Base and Achieving Extra-Terrestrial Power