Russia’s Space Push: Nuclear Power Plant Planned On Moon By 2036 To Support Deep-Space Missions

Russia plans to put a nuclear power plant on the moon in the next decade to supply its lunar space program and a joint Russian Chinese research station as major powers rush to explore the earth’s only natural satellite. 

Ever since Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to go into space in 1961, Russia has prided itself as a leading power in space technology and exploration but in recent decades it has fallen behind the United States and increasingly China. 

Russia’s ambitions suffered a massive blow in August 2023 when its unmanned Luna-25 mission smashed into the surface of the moon while attempting to land, and Elon Musk has revolutionised the launch of space vehicles – once a Russian speciality. 

Russia’s state space corporation, Roscosmos, claimed in a statement that it planned to build a lunar power plant by 2036 and signed a contract with the Lavochkin Association aerospace company to do it. 

Roscosmos further said that the purpose of the plant is to power Russia’s lunar program, including rovers, an observatory and the infrastructure of the joint Russian Chinese International Lunar Research Station.  

“The project is an important step towards the creation of a permanently functioning scientific lunar station and the transition from one-time missions to a long-term lunar exploration program,” Roscosmos said. 

Roscosmos did not say explicitly that the plant would be nuclear, but it said the participants included Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and the Kurchatov Institute, Russia’s leading nuclear research institute. 

The head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Bakanov, said in June that one of the corporation’s aims was to put a nuclear power plant on the moon and to explore Venus, known as earth’s “sister” planet.  

The moon, which is 384,400 km away from our planet Earth, moderates the earth’s wobble on its axis, which ensures a more stable climate. It also causes tides in the world’s oceans. 

 (input from Agency)

Also Read: Is The Russia-Ukraine War Coming To An End? Zelenskyy Reveals New 20-point US-led Plan To Resolve The Conflict: What We Know