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Russia and China announce plan to build shared nuclear reactor on the moon by 2035, 'without humans'

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By Harry Baker
published

The proposed nuclear reactor would provide energy to a lunar base that Russia and China have agreed to build together.

An illustration showing three astronauts roaming around the moon. One is coming closer to the camera. There's a moon base in the background as well as a red flag. The sky is dark and starry.
Russia and China are planning to build a joint base on the moon. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Russia's space agency Roscosmos has announced plans to work with China to build an automated nuclear reactor on the moon by 2035. The proposed reactor will help power a proposed lunar base that the two countries will jointly operate.  

Back in 2021, Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) revealed that they intended to build a shared base on the moon, named the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), which they claimed at the time would be "open to all interested countries and international partners." 

However, NASA astronauts are unlikely to be allowed to visit this base due to historically frosty relations with CNSA and a more recent split with Roscosmos, which will leave the International Space Station by 2025 in response to sanctions from the U.S. over Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Related: The next chapter of lunar exploration could forever change the moon — and our relationship to it (op-ed)

On Tuesday (March 5), Roscosmos announced that it will eventually attempt to build a nuclear reactor alongside CNSA, which would theoretically be able to power the ILRS. 

"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," Roscosmos director general Yury Borisov told state-owned Russian news site TASS.

Borisov added that the challenging construction job would likely be carried out autonomously "without the presence of humans" and that the necessary technological solutions to pull it off are "almost ready." 

Roscosmos is also looking to use massive nuclear-powered rockets to transfer cargo to the moon to build this base, but the agency has not yet figured out how to build these spacecraft safely, Reuters reported.

U.K. scientists recently revealed designs for a compact lunar nuclear reactor that is being considered for future missions by NASA. (Image credit: Rolls-Royce)

A nuclear reactor, or similar source of reliable power, will likely be necessary to sustain future lunar bases because solar panels are unlikely to generate and store enough energy.

In September last year, U.K. scientists revealed plans for a compact nuclear reactor that can be powered by tiny seed-size fuel cells and is due to be tested by NASA for future missions.

It is currently unclear what size or shape the joint Russian and Chinese reactor will take.

To the moon

Roscosmos and CNSA, neither of which have put humans on the moon's surface, have contrasting track records when it comes to recent lunar exploration.

Last year, Russia's first moon mission in 47 years ended in disaster when the Luna-25 lander crashed into the lunar surface, leaving behind a 33-foot (10 meter) wide crater. 

CNSA's Chang'e 5 moon lander planted a Chinese flag on the moon's surface in 2020. (Image credit: CNSA/CLEP)
Related Stories:

— Nuclear power on the moon: NASA wraps up 1st phase of ambitious reactor project

— Nuclear power on the moon: Rolls-Royce unveils reactor mockup

— China will launch giant, reusable rockets next year to prep for human missions to the moon

However, China has had a presence on the moon since 2013, when the Chang'e 3 mission put a lander and rover on the lunar surface. The subsequent Chang'e 4 and Chang'e 5 missions, which occurred in 2019 and 2020 respectively, also successfully landed spacecraft on the moon. The most recent mission also successfully returned lunar samples to Earth — a feat that CNSA will attempt to repeat later this year.

Last week, CNSA also announced that it will start launching giant reusable rockets over the next two years as part of the agency’s plan to put boots on the moon by 2030.

However, NASA is still on track to return humans to the lunar surface before then, despite the first crewed Artemis mission being delayed until 2026.

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Harry Baker
Harry Baker
Live Science Staff Writer

Harry is a U.K.-based staff writer at Live Science. He studied Marine Biology at the University of Exeter (Penryn campus) and after graduating started his own blog site "Marine Madness," which he continues to run with other ocean enthusiasts. He is also interested in evolution, climate change, robots, space exploration, environmental conservation and anything that's been fossilized. When not at work he can be found watching sci-fi films, playing old Pokemon games or running (probably slower than he'd like). 

1 Comment Comment from the forums
  • fj.torres
    Dunno.
    Russia has been planning/promising great things in space for decades and delivering very little. And their chronic leak issues don't speak well of their modern quality control.

    That in turn brings up the question of why China, which has been doing well enough on their own would feel the need to tie themselves to Russia. They don't feel competent enough to do it on their own?

    Finally, there is the time frame; 2035?

    The demographic and economic future of both countries is at serious risk over the next 5 years and neither might be able to afford a big prestige space project by 2035.

    In other words: I'll believe it when I see it.
    Reply