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The new space race for a lunar base — complete with nuclear reactors — will decide the future of America’s national security

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As an 8-year-old kid, the Apollo 11 moon landing inspired me to become an astronaut. I was fortunate to realize that dream and enjoyed a 15-year spaceflight career with NASA. After the success of the Artemis II mission earlier this year, NASA is looking to return again to the surface of the moon. Why?

Aren’t we redoing what we did over 50 years ago? Why a lunar base? Why not go directly to Mars? One could even argue that Artemis II was not as eventful as Apollo 8, since that crew orbited the moon 10 times.

Legitimate questions. But what most Americans fail to realize is that the race to get back to the moon is existential. Our national security is at stake. 

During the Apollo missions, the nation understood how important the space race was. America and the Soviet Union were in a Cold War that would determine the planet’s future, and beating the Communists to the moon played a pivotal role in establishing Western dominance.

At its peak, the agency received more than 4% of US spending. Today, it receives a measly 0.33%. But the moon’s role is just as crucial today as it was 50 years ago. 

NASA’s most powerful X-ray telescope reveals........

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