Russia and China plan to build nuclear power plants on the Moon

The head of the Russian space agency this week announced a joint project with China to install a nuclear power plant on the moon by 2033-2035.

The plant will make it possible to supply energy to the future Sino-Russian lunar station.

The global conquest of space now knows no bounds. During the World Youth Festival in Russia, from March 1 to 8, the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, made a most unusual announcement: to install a nuclear power plant on the moon, in partnership with China. “Today, we are seriously considering the delivery and installation of a power plant on the lunar surface with our Chinese colleagues for the period 2033-2035”He said, as quoted by Reuters news agency.

The initiative is part of the Sino-Russian lunar program established in March 2021, and if the project could surprise, “This is a very serious challenge.”, assured Yuri Borisov. Beijing and Moscow also intend to do so “International Scientific Lunar Station” (ILS) to compete with the American Artemis program planned by NASA.

The director of Roscosmos explained that this will make it possible to supply the future lunar station with energy, to compensate for the inadequacy of the nuclear power plant photovoltaic panels on the Moon. “Solar panels may not provide enough electricity to power future lunar colonies”Yuri Borisov added, explaining that the Moon is not permanently illuminated by the Sun and therefore the satellites are not sufficiently exposed to the Sun.

Construction of nuclear-powered spaceships

On the occasion of this celebration, Yuri Borisov also mentioned another Russian project: the construction of a nuclear-powered spaceship. According to him, all the technical issues related to the project have been resolved with the exception of finding a solution to cool the nuclear reactor. “We are working on a space tug. This enormous structure will be able, thanks to the nuclear reactor and high-power turbines, to carry large cargo from one orbit to another, collect space debris and be used in many other situations.”

He detailed.

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In September 2023, South Africa joined the Sino-Russian lunar space station program. Concretely, the project also includes jumping robots and mini-rovers manufactured to study the lunar surface, as specified by the Russian press agency Tass.

In the past, Moscow has already indicated that it wants to launch several missions to the Moon. China, for its part, plans to send the first Chinese astronaut there before 2030. NASA talked about a similar nuclear power plant project on the Moon in June 2022, in cooperation with the Department of Defense. ‘United States Energy – “That should start by the end of the decade”.