Moscow plans to contribute its expertise in “nuclear space energy” to a joint lunar program with China, including a nuclear power plant on the moon, Russia’s space agency chief Yuri Borisov said on Monday.
Borisov warned that solar panels would not be enough to ensure a reliable supply of electricity to potential lunar settlements.
“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 during a youth event.
Some in the US have speculated that Russia is planning to use a new type of nuclear weapon against satellites. But the Roskosmos chief, who took over Roskosmos in 2022, insisted that Russia had no plans of stationing nuclear weapons in space.
A nuclear plant on the moon would need to be made by machines, Borisov added, saying there were already usable technical solutions for the project.
