Russia’s space agency Roscosmos announced on Tuesday that it is “seriously considering” building a nuclear power plant on the moon in cooperation with China’s Communist government.
The agency’s CEO, Yuri Borisov, said Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) will develop plans for the construction of a robotic lunar reactor, as well as supplying reactor materials, coolants and other important materials. A “space tugboat” that can transport cargo to and from facilities.
“Currently, we are seriously considering a project to deliver to the moon and install a power reactor there between 2033 and 2035 jointly with Chinese partners,” Borisov said. Said Russia’s TASS news agency reported on Tuesday. Borisov was reportedly speaking to Russian students at the World Youth Festival.
Iranian state media press tvBorisov, who covered the event, said that future lunar colonies and research facilities will need nuclear power, as the amount of solar power that scientists can generate on the moon is not enough to sustain large buildings. He said he explained that. The moon’s harsh environment would also mean that the construction of nuclear power plants “should be carried out in automatic mode without human presence” by robots.
He added that the transportation of goods reportedly also poses a significant challenge.
“We are certainly working on the development of a space tug,” Borisov reportedly explained. “Thanks to its nuclear reactor and high-power turbines, this gigantic, gigantic structure can be used to transport large cargo from one orbit to another, collect space debris, and many other uses. You can do that.”
Borisov previously announced the development of a “space tug” called “Zevus” in April.
“It is expected to be operational by 2030. This is one of many products that will help us expand to the moon, and we will use it in a joint project with China,” Borisov said. was suggested at that time.
The plan to build a nuclear power plant on the Moon appears to be the result of an agreement announced in November between China and Russia to cooperate specifically on lunar projects. At the time of this announcement, the Chinese state propaganda media agency Global Times was fired Russia’s space projects are “relatively lackluster,” he said, pointing to the recent failure of the country’s Luna 25 probe mission. Luna 25 was expected to be Russia’s first lunar lander in 47 years, but the landing failed and it crashed into the moon’s surface.
The November agreement to cooperate on lunar projects follows Roscosmos’ announcement that it is interested in a lunar landing project with Beijing in 2022, and follows an existing 2017 agreement on lunar surface research. There is a possibility that the agreement will be extended in 2019. After the November agreement, the Global Times appeared optimistic that the project was possible, but not because of any perceived capabilities on the Russian side.
“Russia’s space development is relatively lackluster due to a lack of aerospace personnel and resources,” Chinese regime news agency said. declared. “This is where China, with its rich economic and engineering resources, can fill this gap.”
State-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced On Monday, the first day of China’s “Second Session” rubber-stamp legislative session, it was announced that the Communist Party is planning a variety of new space projects for the near future, but there was no mention of joint projects with Russia. .
“Specifically, two cargo spacecraft launch missions – Tianzhou-7, -8 and two manned spacecraft launch missions – Shenzhou-18, -19 are scheduled for 2024.” Global Times reportquoting CASC, “and two manned repatriation missions for Shenzhou-17 and -18 will also be carried out.”
In recent years, Russia has distanced its space exploration efforts from the United States and other large Western nations in response to tightening sanctions aimed at deterring invasions of neighboring Ukraine. In 2022, the Russian government will announced Borisov said at the time that he would no longer cooperate with the International Space Station (ISS) project due to sanctions, but that a complete withdrawal from the ISS would be in 2024. He said he is considering it. I will continue similar research.
The Russian portion of the ISS is aging and there are growing concerns. Roscosmos confirmed in late February that there was an air leak at the site, but insisted it was “regularly working to identify and fix potential leak points.”
The agency said in a statement that there is “no threat to the crew or the station itself.”
Forbes magazine noted on Tuesday that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) also has plans to use nuclear energy on the moon, and has similarly announced plans to build a nuclear power plant on the moon “in the early 2030s.” . It is unclear at the time of writing whether a joint project between Russia and China could interfere with NASA’s plans.
NASA too announced The Nuclear Fission Ground Power Generation Project is a plan to develop a nuclear fission reactor on the moon. As of early February, NASA claimed it had finished the “design phase” and was ready to begin testing the model. Modern nuclear reactors use nuclear fusion reactions to produce energy. Although nuclear fission reactors have long been desired, they are currently not practical.
