Nuclear Power on the Moon? Russia, China Working on a Plan

Nuclear Power on the Moon? Russia, China Working on a Plan

The head of Russia’s space agency said his country and China have been working on a program to build a nuclear power plant on the moon, with an eye toward producing electricity that would allow settlements on the lunar surface.

Yuri Borisov, who leads Russia’s Roscosmos space group, on March 5 said the agency was “seriously considering” installing a nuclear reactor “jointly with our Chinese partners,” according to a report from the Russian state-run news agency Tass. Borisov, a former deputy defense minister, said the project would be completed sometime between 2033 and 2035. Borisov also reportedly said the project likely would need to be built “without the presence of humans.”

“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, adding that technology that would support the plant’s construction is almost ready to deploy. Borisov, general director of Roscosmos, said nuclear energy would be needed on the moon to support “future lunar settlements” because solar panels would not be able to produce enough electricity.

This story will be updated.

—Darrell Proctor is a senior associate editor for POWER ( @POWERmagazine).