Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO) CEO Jacob DeWitte said Thursday that nuclear energy is the key to humanity’s next leap beyond Earth, telling CNBC’s “The Exchange” that reactors will underpin virtually every ambitious mission planned for space in the coming decades.

OKLO stock is up this week. See the chart here.

Everything Cool Needs Nuclear

When asked if goals for nuclear-powered space exploration were far-fetched, DeWitte argued nuclear power is not a speculative technology for space, it is a proven one that is finally being scaled.

"We work with nuclear power to enable everything that we do that’s cool in space," DeWitte said. 

The Oklo chief said nuclear energy will be required for propulsion, survival and day-to-day operations once missions move beyond low Earth orbit. 

Traveling deeper into space and landing ...