by Ty Roush
March 05, 2024

from Forbes Website

also from HERE

 

 

 

 

Russian officials said

the facility could allow

lunar settlements to be developed.

Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images

 

 

Key Facts

  • Yuri Borisov, general director of Russia's Roscosmos, said the space agency was "seriously considering" installing a nuclear reactor "jointly with our Chinese partners," according to the Russian state-run news agency Tass.

     

  • The project would be completed sometime between 2033 and 2035, according to Borisov, who reportedly said the project would likely need to be done "without the presence of humans."

     

  • Technology that would automate the nuclear power plant's construction is nearly ready, Borisov said.

     

  • Nuclear energy on the Moon would be able to power "future lunar settlements," Borisov said, because modern solar panels would not be able to provide enough electricity.

     

  • Russia is also developing a nuclear-powered "space tugboat" that can transport cargo from one orbit to another, collect space debris or "engage in many other applications," Borisov said.

 

 

Plans for installing a joint

nuclear power plant on the moon's surface

within the next decade are being considered

by Russian and Chinese officials,

the head of Russia's space agency said Tuesday,

a project he said could allow for

the development of lunar settlements

amid similar efforts by the U.S.

 

 

 

 

Tangent

 

Yuri Borisov said Russia is against deploying nuclear weapons in space, and added he believed,

"space should be free of nuclear weapons."

Multiple U.S. outlets reported last month Russia planned to use nuclear "weapons" in space, after House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) warned of an unspecified,

"serious national security threat."

The weapons would have been used to target satellites, ABC News reported, citing U.S. officials.

 

Russian officials and President Vladimir Putin condemned the claims, suggesting plans to deploy nuclear weapons in space were "bogus."

 

 

 

 

Key Background

 

Russia's Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration have been cooperating on building a research station on the Moon by the end of 2035 since signing an agreement in 2021, according to Tass.

The project includes the development of several lunar landers for research, a jumping robot and smart mini-rovers designed to study the moon's surface, Tass reported.

 

The project will also establish communications and power systems.

 

 

 

Under the project's timeline, China will send three missions to the moon's surface, including the Chang'e 6 mission, which is expected to launch in May.

 

NASA and the Energy Department are also developing plans for nuclear power on the Moon, after announcing contracts for three companies to help develop the project with the space agency in 2021.

 

The project aims to establish a nuclear power plant on the Moon in the early 2030s.

 

NASA officials have also signaled for settlements on the Moon,

with the agency suggesting homes on the moon's surface will be completed by 2040.

 

 

 

Surprising Fact

 

In August 2023, Russia launched its first mission to the moon's surface in 47 years.

 

The Luna-25 spacecraft was designed to be the first to ever land on the moon's south pole as part of a space race against India's space agency.

 

The Luna-25 spacecraft subsequently spun out of control and crashed into the Moon, while India's Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft also crashed after suffering from a software error.

 

Roscosmos subsequently said,

it aimed to send cosmonauts to land on the Moon within the next decade with the intent to build a Moon base by 2031...

Russia and India's space race coincides with efforts by other countries - including the U.S., China and Japan - who announced plans to explore the Moon in recent years.

 

Japan landed a rover on the Moon in January, though the spacecraft landed upside-down, causing the solar panels to infrequently restore power.

 

Intuitive Machines landed the first American spacecraft on the Moon in over 50 years last month, though the spacecraft landed sideways near the moon's south pole, causing it to lose power.