WASHINGTON (CNN) - NASA wants the United States to be the first nation to put a nuclear reactor on the moon. Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy has directed the space agency to fast-track plans to do just that. Duffy, who is also the transportation secretary, explained the reasoning in a news conference on drones Tuesday.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who is also the interim head of NASA, announced expedited plans this week to build a nuclear reactor on the moon as part of a new space race. Derrick Pitts, chief astronomer and planetarium director for the Franklin Institute,