MOSCOW, October 4. /TASS/. NASA may deploy nuclear weapons to the Moon under the cover of the Artemis program, Alexander Stepanov, military expert with the Institute of Law and National Security at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, told TASS.
"A manned base is part of the Artemis program, aimed at developing space exploration technologies, preparing for longer space missions, and adapting and training astronauts. The construction site will be the Shackleton Crater on the Moon’s South Pole. Nuclear energy will be used to supply power. This particular aspect is probably the most important one because this marks a step towards bringing nuclear technologies not only to orbit but also to near space. The odds are high that nuclear weapons will be deployed in near-Earth and near-Moon space," he pointed out.
According to Stepanov, Washington is focused on expanding its launch capabilities for a potential deployment of offensive weapons to orbit, which may be equipped with special warheads, including nuclear ones. "For instance, the Boeing X-37 spacecraft is capable of carrying up to six nuclear warheads," the expert specified.
He stressed that in the past, the US had conducted explosions of nuclear weapons in order to assess their impact on space. "In 1962-1963, the US carried out Operation Dominic, which included a series of nuclear weapons tests. In particular, the Starfish Prime project was implemented to study the impact of nuclear explosions on objects in outer space. A PGM-17A Thor medium-range missile was used to deliver a thermonuclear weapon to low Earth orbit," Stepanov said.