Trump Signs SPD-6: Space Nuclear Power & Propulsion Strategy

President Trump signed Space Policy Directive 6, directing NASA and the Department of Energy to develop a fission surface power system demonstrable on the Moon by 2027 and scalable for Mars. SPD-6 also covered nuclear thermal propulsion for future deep-space missions. NASA Administrator Bridenstine called nuclear power 'fundamentally enabling' for sustained lunar presence and eventual Mars missions.