Washington, Aug. 7 -- The United States is in a new space race with China to claim the most resource-rich part of the moon, NASA's interim administrator Sean Duffy said while announcing plans to install a nuclear reactor on the lunar surface by 2030.

"We're in a race to the moon, in a race with China to the moon. And to have a base on the moon, we need energy," he said Addressing a press conference on Tuesday (local time) titled "Unleashing American Drone Dominance" held by the US Department of Transportation, which Duffy also leads.

Duffy explained that energy is the key to setting up a permanent base, and that's why he wants a 100-kilowatt nuclear reactor placed on the moon within the next five years. He said such a reactor would gene...