NASA Planning Village on the Moon

The U.S. plans to build a village that can support "sustained human life on the moon" within the next decade, acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy announced Monday.

Duffy, who is also secretary of transportation, was asked what success would look like for NASA 10 years from now while speaking at the International Astronautical Congress in Sydney, Australia, alongside the heads of other national space agencies.

"We are going to have sustained human life on the moon," Duffy said. "Not just an outpost, but a village."

This village could be nuclear-powered, according to a directive Duffy issued this month declaring NASA's intent to build a nuclear power plant on the moon.

According to Duffy, he believes NASA will have "made leaps and bounds on our mission to get to Mars" within the next decade and hopes the U.S. will "be on the cusp of putting human boots on Mars" by that time.

The secretary's comments come after he released a video declaring that America will "win the second space race" against China.

Duffy said the U.S. will be "going back to the moon, and this time, when we plant our flag, we stay. I'm committed to getting us back to the moon before President Trump leaves office."

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