Nuclear power plant on the moon? China and Russia seriously considering

Russia is back with a plan for advanced space exploration. The head of the country's space agency said Tuesday that Moscow's goal is to return to the moon and build a nuclear power plant on Earth's only satellite.

As reported by Reuters, the head of Roskosmos (Russia's space agency), Yuri Borisov, said that Russia and China are working together on a lunar program, and Moscow is in a position to contribute its expertise to the "space nuclear power" project.

"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.

"This is a very serious challenge...it should be done in automatic mode, without the presence of humans," he said.

According to Reuters reports, Borisov mentioned that Russia is planning to build a nuclear-powered cargo spacecraft.

Russia's first lunar mission in 47 years failed after the Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the surface of the Silver Globe in August 2023, but Moscow has conveyed that it will send more missions to the Moon. Last month, China aimed to land the first Chinese citizen on the Moon before 2030.

Last October, Borisov announced that Russia would explore the Moon jointly with China following the launch of the Luna-26 and Luna-27 spacecraft. In 2021, the two governments signed an agreement on cooperation in creating the International Lunar Research Station.

Last month, Vladimir Putin disregarded a warning from the United States over plans to put nuclear weapons in space, saying it was meant to bring Russia to arms negotiations on the West's terms.

Source: Reuters