Magdalena Petrova

Once a leading producer of uranium in the world, U.S. production of the mineral has fallen off a cliff. But that’s changing. Domestic mining of uranium, which is primarily used as a fuel for nuclear reactors, is picking back up thanks to a ballooning demand for electricity needed to power energy hungry AI models. CNBC spoke to two uranium miners, Ur-Energy and Energy Fuels, about how they are working to ramp up domestic production of uranium and the challenges they face in doing so.

As demand for energy skyrockets amid an AI push, uranium miners are ramping up domestic production of the mineral used to fuel nuclear reactors.

SpaceX CEO and Mars advocate Elon Musk has said his company can get humans to Mars as early as 2029.

Humanity is far from colonizing Mars, but that’s not stopping a group of space enthusiasts from practicing anyway. CNBC shadowed crew 315 on the last day of their analog mission at the Mars Desert Research Station near Hanksville, Utah. The crew showed us their habitat and took us along for an extravehicular activity (EVA) mission, where crew members tested out drones and Starlink internet for use on Mars. The station is run by the Mars Society nonprofit.

Rare earth magnets power everything from electric vehicles and wind turbines to defense equipment, data centers and high-tech consumer electronics. The problem? The United States depends a great deal on China for these critical materials with China mining around 70% and processing around 90% of rare earths. This has made rare earths the most important bargaining chip in the trade war between the U.S. and China. Now, the U.S. is seeking to develop a domestic supply chain, but faces major hurdles.

SpaceX holds $22 billion in government contracts, according to the company, with NASA and the Department of Defense among its largest customers.

Artificial intelligence companies are striking deals worth much more than they make in revenues.

Amazon is building a subsea fiber-optic cable called Fastnet to connect Maryland's Eastern shore to County Cork, Ireland.

Over 95% of international data and voice traffic travels through subsea telecom cables. Tech giants Meta, Google, Amazon and Microsoft are investing for AI.

A new report warns that the U.S. could lose its dominance in space to China in the next few years.