Russia's Roscosmos space agency chief, Yuri Borisov, said on Tuesday that Russia and China are planning to build a nuclear power plant on the moon by 2035.
Russia and China Plans to Put Nuclear Power Plant on the Moon
According to Reuters, Yuri Borisov noted that such venture could one day allow lunar settlements to be developed. In a youth event, Borisov said that Russia and China had been working together on a lunar program and that Moscow could contribute its expertise in "nuclear space energy."
"Today, we are seriously considering a project - somewhere at the turn of 2033-2035 - to deliver and install a power unit on the lunar surface together with our Chinese colleagues," he noted.
With lunar nights lasting 14 Earth days, Borisov said nuclear power, unlike solar panels, could provide enough electricity to power future lunar settlements.
Borisov also stressed the project's complexity, saying that a nuclear plant on the moon would need to be made by machines or without human intervention. He noted that usable technical solutions were already available.
According to DW, some US officials have speculated that Russia plans to create some kind of space-based nuclear system for targeting satellites. However, Borisov, who became the head of Roskosmos in 2022, maintained that Moscow had no plans to station nuclear weapons in space.
Russia and China signed an agreement in March 2021 to build an international lunar research station, and a roadmap for the construction was presented just after three months. US space agency NASA has also floated the concept of utilizing nuclear reactors to power future lunar colonies.
Russia to Build Nuclear-Powered Cargo Spaceship
The Roskosmos chief has also discussed Russia's plan to develop a nuclear-powered cargo spaceship. Borisov noted that, apart from finding a solution to cool the nuclear reactor, the rest of the technical questions regarding the project had already been solved.
"We are indeed working on a space tugboat. This huge, cyclopean structure that would be able, thanks to a nuclear reactor and a high-power turbines... to transport large cargoes from one orbit to another, collect space debris and engage in many other applications," Borisov said, as Reuters reported.
Russian authorities have previously revealed their ambitious lunar mining aspirations, but the country's space program has suffered several setbacks in recent years, including the failure of its Luna-25 mission last year.
Luna-25 is Russia's first mission to the moon in 47 years. Despite the setbacks, Moscow remains committed to launching more lunar missions, as well as exploring the potential of a joint Russia-China crewed mission, and establishing a lunar base.
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