The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) is expected to fast-track plans to build a nuclear reactor on the moon by 2030. The reactor is said to be part of the country’s broader ambitions to set up a permanent base for humans to live on the lunar surface.

Placing an atomic energy source on the lunar surface is “not science fiction,” experts say, but does pose technical challenges.

Trying to get a nuclear reactor on the surface of the moon is going to take time – maybe much longer more than NASA wants. Julia Musto reports