When the headline „US plans nuclear power plant on the Moon by 2030“ began circulating in the media, many readers likely thought: typical Donald Trump – another grandiose idea from the US President. Yet the concept is neither new nor unrealistic. Such plans have existed for decades, and concrete work has long been underway. Under President Joe Biden, NASA even commissioned research contracts for the design of lunar nuclear power plants.

Time is pressing for the United States. China, possibly in partnership with Russia, is also planning to build a nuclear power plant on the Moon. Whoever wins this race will gain a major advantage in the further exploration of space. While a number of technical details remain unresolved, it is already clear that nuclear plants on the Moon are technically feasible. They would be much smaller and function differently than those on Earth, with lower output. Still, they are vital for lunar energy supply – and they could, in effect, enable nations to stake territorial claims on parts of the Moon.

Such developments would have far-reaching consequences. Evidence suggests that water ice exists at the Moon’s north and south poles. „Whoever succeeds in converting lunar ice into high-energy rocket fuel will hold the key to the solar system,“ says Stefan Linke, who leads a research group at TU Berlin focused on space resource utilisation. Rockets would then no longer need to start from Earth for interplanetary missions – they could fly to the Moon, refuel there, and continue to Mars or beyond. This would make rockets smaller, lighter, and far cheaper.

Linke observes an increasingly close race between China and the United States for space supremacy. „It is still unclear whether the next person to walk on the Moon will be an American or a Chinese,“ he says. „Within the next few years, humanity will know.“ In one respect, the scientist sees an advantage for Beijing: „The Chinese have a political edge, as they plan long term instead of reassessing their space programmes every four years after an election, as Western countries do.“

Space is not only of scientific and military interest but also of growing industrial relevance. A study published in early September found that large deposits of metals such as platinum, palladium, and rhodium, may exist on the Moon. Extracting resources there would be far easier than on asteroids, which also contain materials crucial to industry. A more distant prospect is the exploitation of helium-3 – an isotope found in lunar dust that could serve as fuel for nuclear fusion reactors on Earth. However, the extraction and transport of helium-3 remain at an early technological stage.

A pioneer in Europe when it comes to space resources is the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. As early as 2016, its then economy minister launched an initiative for space resource exploration and utilisation. A year later, Luxembourg passed a law allowing citizens and companies to claim property rights over space resources. The United States has enacted a similar law.

Stephan Hobe, professor at the University of Cologne and director of the Institute for Air, Space and Cyber Law, considers such unilateral national approaches a violation of international law. He calls for a multilateral framework. The existing international treaties – the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and the 1979 Moon Agreement – do not specifically regulate the extraction of resources. According to the Luxembourg Space Agency, this legal uncertainty hampers plans for future space mining ventures.

Yet space is not only significant because of raw materials. According to the Federation of German Industries (BDI), the commercialisation of space represents „a huge opportunity“ and is becoming „increasingly important for Germany as an industrial nation.“ It is „the key to future technologies such as autonomous driving, Industry 4.0, and high-speed global internet,“ says Matthias Wachter, head of international cooperation, security, raw materials, and space at the BDI.

The BDI is therefore urging the German government to step up its commitment to space. It wants Germany to raise its contribution to the European Space Agency (ESA) at the ministerial conference in Bremen in November from 3.5 billion euros to 6 billion euros. Space and research minister Dorothee Bär declined to name a figure at the BDI Space Congress but confirmed that Germany would make „the largest contribution“ among European countries.

The ESA highlights the benefits of its investments not only for science and defence but also for the economy. The 16.9 billion euros committed at the 2022 ministerial conference increased Europe’s GDP by roughly 22 billion euros through industrial contracts and revenues for the space sector. „These investments also safeguard jobs in sectors with significantly above-average productivity,“ says Christine Klein, ESA’s director of industrial policy.

„Investments in space technology benefit German SMEs and startups in particular,“ Klein adds. Space is also of great interest to pharmaceutical research, as microgravity enables experiments impossible on Earth. „Weightlessness allows us to study the structure of enzymes more precisely,“ explains Stefan Linke of TU Berlin. „It is especially valuable for research and development of homogeneous materials.“

The growing economic relevance of space for industry is also reflected in Europe’s new satellite alliance. Airbus, Thales, and Leonardo recently announced a framework agreement for a joint venture - a project first reported exclusively by Börsen-Zeitung. The planned company is set to launch in mid-2027, with annual revenues of 6.5 billion euros.

Satellites are essential not only for civilian uses such as telecommunications but also for defence. Space is becoming an increasingly strategic domain for the military. According to Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, the German government plans to invest 35 billion euros in space security infrastructure by 2030. Russia and China, Pistorius warns, have „rapidly expanded their space warfare capabilities“ in recent years.

A study published in late September by consulting firm Roland Berger, titled „Catch-up in Space“, finds that Germany’s lag in the space sector has become substantial. Germany currently operates just over 80 satellites, compared with more than 10,000 in the United States and over 900 in China. This leads to critical dependencies in satellite communication and launch capacity. Yet satellites are now vital for modern economies – for logistics, mobility, and national defence alike.