Russian officials have previously spoken of ambitious plans to one day mine on the moon
Russia and China are considering building a nuclear power plant on the moon from 2033-35, Roscosmos chief Yuri Borisov said on Tuesday, saying settlements on the moon could one day be allowed.
Former Deputy Defense Minister Borisov said Russia and China have been working together on the moon program and Moscow can contribute its expertise in “nuclear space energy.”
“Today, we are seriously considering a project – sometime between the turn of 2033 and 2035 – to deliver and install a power plant on the lunar surface together with our Chinese colleagues,” Borisov said.
He said solar panels would not provide enough electricity to power a future lunar settlement, while nuclear power could.
“This is a very serious challenge… It should be done in automatic mode, without humans present,” he said of possible plans.
Borisov also talked about Russia’s plans to build a nuclear-powered cargo spacecraft. He said all technical issues related to the project had been resolved, except for finding a solution on how to cool the nuclear reactor.
“We are indeed working on a space tug. Thanks to the nuclear reactor and high-power turbines, this huge one-eyed structure is capable of transporting large cargo from one orbit to another, collecting space debris and engaging in many other applications,” Boriso Husband said.
Russian officials have previously said they have ambitious plans to one day mine the moon, but Russia’s space program has suffered a series of setbacks in recent years.
Last year, Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashed out of control, the first mission to the moon in 47 years to fail.
Moscow said it would launch more lunar missions and then explore the possibility of joint Russian-Chinese manned missions and even a lunar base.
China said last month that it aims to send the first Chinese astronaut to the moon by 2030.
Russian President Vladimir Putin last month dismissed U.S. warnings that Moscow planned to deploy nuclear weapons in space as false, calling it a ploy to get Russia to join arms talks on Western terms.
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