Russia, China Planning to Have Nuclear Power Plant on Moon

Russia and China are planning to put up a joint nuclear power plant on the moon from 2033-35, said the head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos Yuri Borisov on Tuesday.

Borisov informed that Russia and China are jointly working on a lunar programme and Moscow is contributing its expertise on “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,” Borisov said.

The establishment of nuclear power plants on the moon is being thought of as solar panels would not be able to provide enough electricity to power future lunar settlements.

“We are indeed working on a space tugboat. This huge, cyclopean structure that would be able, thanks to a nuclear reactor and high-power turbines…to transport large cargoes from one orbit to another, collect space debris and engage in many other applications,” Borisov said.

But Russia’s first lunar mission in 47 years failed in 2023 when the Luna-25 spacecraft crashed on the lunar surface.

China aims to put the first Chinese astronaut on the moon before 2030.