Russia and China plan to build a joint nuclear power plant on the moon by 2035
Russia and China had been working together on a lunar program, and Moscow was able to contribute with its expertise in nuclear space energy.
Moscow: Russia and China are considering putting a nuclear power plant on the moon between 2033 and 2035, Yuri Borisov, head of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, said on Tuesday, something he said could one day allow the construction of lunar settlements.
Borisov, a former deputy defense minister, said Russia and China had worked jointly on a moon program and that Moscow could contribute with its expertise in “nuclear space energy.”
“Today we are seriously considering a project – sometime around the turn of the year 2033-2035 – to supply and install a power source on the lunar surface together with our Chinese colleagues,” Borisov said.
Solar panels wouldn’t be able to provide enough electricity to power future lunar settlements, he said, while nuclear power could.
“This is a very serious challenge… it should be done in automatic mode, without the presence of people,” he said of the possible plan.
Borisov also spoke about Russian plans to build a nuclear-powered cargo spaceship. He said all technical questions related to the project had been resolved, apart from finding a solution for cooling the nuclear reactor.
“We are indeed working on a space tug. This huge, cyclopean structure that, thanks to a nuclear reactor and powerful turbines, could transport large payloads from one orbit to another, collect space debris and engage in many other applications,” Borisov said.
Russian officials have previously discussed ambitious plans to one day mine the moon, but Russia’s space program has suffered a series of setbacks in recent years.
The first moon mission in 47 years failed last year after the Russian spacecraft Luna-25 went out of control and crashed.
Moscow has said it will launch further lunar missions and then explore the possibility of a joint Russian-Chinese manned mission and even a moon base.
China said last month it aims to put the first Chinese astronaut on the moon before 2030.
Russian President Vladimir Putin last month dismissed as false a warning from the United States that Moscow was planning to place nuclear weapons in space, saying it was a ploy to draw Russia into arms negotiations on the West’s terms.