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DW
16-05-2025
- Science
- DW
China and Russia plan to build nuclear power station on moon – DW – 05/16/2025
Planned for 2035, the nuclear reactor would power research and exploration of the moon's south pole as part of the the International Lunar Research Station project. What you need to know: China and Russia plan to build a nuclear reactor on the moon by 2035 to power a permanent lunar base. The International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) will rely on the power plant for its scientific research. The IRLS involves over a dozen international partners and is seen as a rival program to NASA's Artemis Program. China and Russia plan to build an automated nuclear power station on the moon by 2035. A memorandum of cooperation for the project was signed between Russia's space agency Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) this week. The power station will be part of the proposed ILRS lunar base and will provide energy to enable long-term lunar exploration and scientific research. ILRS is seen as a rival to the US-led Artemis program, which plans to build an orbital lunar space station called "Gateway" from 2027. Artemis involves NASA and the space agencies of 55 other countries, including European Space Agency member states. What is the International Lunar Research Station? The ILRS project aims to establish a scientific research base on the moon located within 100 kilometers (62 miles) of the lunar south pole. It will feature long-term autonomous operations and short-term human missions. "The station will conduct fundamental space research and test technology for long-term uncrewed operations of the ILRS, with the prospect of a human being's presence on the Moon," Roscosmos said in a statement. Chang'e-6: Is geopolitics harming China-EU lunar mission? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video First announced in 2017, ILRS includes involvement from Pakistan, Venezuela, Belarus, Azerbaijan, South Africa, Egypt, Nicaragua, Thailand, Serbia, Senegal and Kazakhstan. China will also invite 50 countries, 500 international scientific research institutions and 5,000 overseas researchers to join the ILRS as part of its "555 Project," said Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar exploration program in a statement last year. While the ILRS aims to be a center of scientific research, the Moon's natural resources are also an enticing prospect for spacefaring nations. The moon holds valuable metal oxides, regolith (lunar soil), rare Earth metals, and potentially significant amounts of helium-3, a potential fuel for nuclear fusion power. The question of who can actually own bits of the moon is hotly debated among legal experts. Will China lead future space exploration? ILRS is part of China's mission to be come a leader in space exploration and scientific research. The first pieces are to be laid by China's Chang'e-8 mission in 2028. This will double as China's first attempt landing an astronaut on the lunar surface. China has been landing unmanned rovers on the moon since 2013 and its scientists have led missions that have mapped the lunar surface, including the 'dark side of the moon', which is the lunar hemisphere that always faces away from Earth. In June 2024, China became the first nation to successfully collect rocks from this hemisphere. The mission was hailed by China, with state news agency Xinhua describing it as "an unprecedented feat in human lunar exploration history." Edited by: Matthew Ward Agius
Business Insider
29-04-2025
- Science
- Business Insider
5 African countries that may join Russia and China in building a nuclear reactor on the moon
Five African countries have been selected to join the ambitious Russian-Chinese International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) project, solidifying Africa's participation in the next frontier of space research. Five African countries to join Russian-Chinese International Lunar Research Station project. ILRS expected to be completed by 2035 and serve as a permanent lunar base for scientific study. China and Africa came together on Africa2Moon project to build lunar radio telescope and quantum communications network. The statement comes on the heels of Russia's expanding prominence in international space issues, notably due to its enhanced cooperation with China. During a recent conference of BRICS space agency directors, Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Bakanov confirmed the project's momentum: "Our joint initiative with China to create an International Scientific Lunar Station is actively developing." The ILRS, which is expected to be completed by 2035, is intended to serve as a permanent lunar base for robotic and crewed missions, allowing for long-term scientific study, the use of space resources, and the potential for lunar settlement. With over 50 nations and hundreds of academics expected to join, the ILRS is viewed as a direct competitor to the United States-led Artemis initiative. ILRS progress On April 23, 2025, China, via a presentation, publicly announced the potential of building a nuclear power station on the Moon by 2035 to support the ILRS, highlighting the project's scope and technological ambition. "An important question for the ILRS is power supply, and in this Russia has a natural advantage, when it comes to nuclear power plants, especially sending them into space, it leads the world, it is ahead of the United States," Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar exploration program, told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference. The presentation, given to officials from 17 participating governments and international organizations, was the first public mention of a nuclear reactor in ILRS plans, implying a Russian-Chinese deployment of a lunar nuclear reactor by 2035. This would offer a consistent, long-term power supply for the station, particularly during the Moon's long nights. As seen in a report by the Russian newspaper Sputnik, 13 countries are set to participate in the project. Although not confirmed yet, the 13 countries include 5 African countries as listed below. Senegal Egypt Ethiopia South Africa Djibouti China and Russia's recent space projects with Africa Under the Africa2Moon project, Africa and China are collaborating on a lunar project intended to build a low-cost, low-mass array of spherical antennas known as BALLS (Bounced African Lunar Low Spheres), which will detect radio frequencies below 10 MHz. According to Forbes, the Africa2Moon project could launch its first moon mission and lunar radio telescope in April. Dr. Adriana Marais, Director at the Foundation for Space Development Africa and Head of Science for Africa2Moon, confirmed that the first phase of the project would place four antennas near the lunar south pole. In March, it was reported that China and South Africa were partnering to build the world's longest quantum communications network, spanning 12,900 kilometers through the border of both countries. This feat utilized China's Jinan-1 quantum microsatellite in low Earth orbit, the first quantum satellite communication link established in the Southern Hemisphere. Months prior, in November 2024, Yury Borisov, the head of the Russian state space corporation Roscosmos, revealed that Russia has extended an offer to a few friendly nations to build spaceports on their land.
Asia Times
25-04-2025
- Science
- Asia Times
US, China in hot race to put nuclear reactors on the moon
Imagine streaming your favorite show or scrolling through your phone, all from the comfort of a home base on the moon. Within the next decade, that sci-fi dream will edge closer to reality – the question is, will an American, Chinese or Russian get there first? For humans to settle and reside on the moon, scientists must solve two big problems: finding water and generating power. Now, the United States and China, with the help of Russia, are in a high-stakes race to crack the latter by building lunar nuclear reactors. Both superpowers are now pushing ahead with plans to install fission power plants on the moon's surface. America's NASA is aiming to launch its Fission Surface Power (FSP) system by the early 2030s, while China and Russia plan to build a lunar reactor between 2033 and 2035. But this is more than a race for power in space. It's a contest over who will shape the rules — and reap the benefits — of the new frontier. On April 23, a top Chinese space official publicly discussed the country's lunar nuclear ambitions for the first time. Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar exploration program, told Reuters he hopes China and Russia will jointly build a reactor to power the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), citing Russia's global leadership in nuclear space tech. 'An important question for the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) is power supply. Russia has a natural advantage when it comes to nuclear power plants, especially when sending them into space. It leads the world and it is ahead of the US,' Wu said. In previous interviews, he said China will send two unmanned spacecraft, Chang'e 7 and Chang'e 8, to the moon in 2026 and 2028, respectively. Chinese astronauts will land on the moon around 2030. He said Chang'e 7 would search for ice on the moon's South Pole while Chang'e 8 would set up telecommunication and energy systems there. He said lunar minerals can be melted at 1,400-1,500 degrees Celsius to produce bricks, which he said can be used to build houses for the ILRS project. In a presentation in Shanghai cited by Reuters, the 2028 mission's Chief Engineer Pei Zhaoyu showed that the lunar base's energy supply could also depend on large-scale solar arrays, and pipelines and cables for heating and electricity built on the moon's surface. On March 5 last year, Yury Borisov, chief executive of Russia's State Corporation for Space Activities (Roscosmos), the main successor to the Soviet space program, said Russia and China planned to install a nuclear reactor on the moon in 2033-2035. He said the reactor would have to be built by machines, and the necessary technological solutions were almost ready. He said solar power would not be enough to support lunar settlements. Borisov stressed that Russia had no plans to send nuclear weapons to space. An academic paper said the ILRS will cover an area with a radius of up to six kilometers. The circle in the center with a radius of one kilometer will be a hub, while the main activity area will cover an area with a radius of three kilometers. While China and Russia have set a target for a lunar nuclear plant, NASA has a full roadmap. In 2022, NASA awarded three US$5 million contracts to teams led by Lockheed Martin, Westinghouse and IX (a joint venture of Intuitive Machines and X-Energy) to build the FSP reactors. They tested their preliminary designs at the Idaho National Laboratory. NASA specified that the reactor should stay under six metric tons and be able to produce 40 kilowatts (kw) of electrical power, ensuring enough for demonstration purposes and additional power available for running lunar habitats, rovers, backup grids or science experiments. In the US, 40 kw can, on average, provide electrical power for 33 households. NASA will ask the industry to design the final reactor this year. In the early 2030s, NASA will send the reactor to the moon for a one-year demonstration, followed by nine years of operation. It will then modify the reactor's design and send one to Mars. In January this year, China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIEA) researchers Shi Yunda and Zhao Shouzhi published a paper titled 'Study on nuclear design of long-life lunar surface nuclear reactor power supply based on annular fuel.' They suggested minor changes that can reduce the American FSP reactor's nuclear fuel (uranium-235) loading by 75% to 18.46 kilograms. In 2017, Zhao and another CIAE researcher, Hu Gu, co-published a paper titled 'Overview of space nuclear reactor power technology' in China's Journal of Deep Space Exploration. 'Space nuclear reactor power has clear and extensive military and civilian purposes,' they said. 'This technology is one of the disruptive technologies.' They admitted that the US and the Soviet Union had spent decades developing space-use nuclear reactors and had acquired many core technologies. They said China's development of space nuclear reactor power should be unique. The technology race on the moon is an extension of the geopolitical fight on Earth. In October 2020, NASA launched the Artemis Accords, an international initiative to promote safe and sustainable space exploration. Fifty-four nations, including developed and emerging countries, have signed the accords. In March 2021, China and Russia signed a Memorandum of Understanding to construct the ILRS. The duo planned to build the basic model of a permanent base on the moon by 2035 and an extended model in the 2040s. So far, 17 countries and more than 50 international research institutions have joined the ILRS, mostly Russian and Chinese allies in the Global South. The European Space Agency (ESA) ruled out joining the ILRS after Russia invaded Ukraine. 'The ILRS' development trend is very good, but compared to the United States' Artemis Accords, ours is much smaller in terms of countries because the US is always interfering in our cooperation with other countries, including Europe,' Wu told foreign media on April 23, without elaborating on the allegation. Before this, Beijing had repeatedly criticized the US for passing the Wolf Amendment in 2011, which prohibited NASA from partnering with Chinese institutions. In the past decade, China has pushed its lunar exploration program and sought support from Russia to boost its space technologies. However, Russia has reportedly been reluctant to share its rocket engines and nuclear technologies with China. Russia faced a significant space race setback in August 2023 when its Luna-25 spacecraft crashed on the moon's surface. Bian Zhigang, deputy director of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), said on April 23 that lunar exploration activities are evolving from short-term missions to long-term construction, from single-craft exploration to multi-craft collaboration and from national missions to international cooperation. Bian said the modes of exploration and cooperation are undergoing fundamental changes. He added that the ILRS will offer new opportunities and platforms for fostering global intelligence integration, technological innovation, inclusive cooperation and shared development. Read: China and SpaceX envision reaching Mars in different ways
India Today
24-04-2025
- Science
- India Today
China, Russia planning to build nuclear plant on the Moon to power lunar station
China and Russia are planning to build a nuclear power plant on the Moon to power their joint lunar research International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), being planned jointly by China and Russia, will need power that will have to be produced alternatively on the Moon to ensure the smooth and long-term functioning of the research aims to become a major space power and land astronauts on the moon by 2030, and its planned Chang'e-8 mission for 2028 would lay the groundwork for constructing a permanent, manned lunar "An important question for the ILRS is power supply, and in this Russia has a natural advantage, when it comes to nuclear power plants, especially sending them into space, it leads the world, it is ahead of the United States," Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar exploration program, told Reuters on the sidelines of the lunar base's energy supply could also depend on large-scale solar arrays, and pipelines and cables for heating and electricity built on the moon's space agency Roscosmos said last year it planned to build a nuclear reactor on the moon's surface with the China National Space Administration (CNSA) by 2035 to power the inclusion of the nuclear power unit in a Chinese space official's presentation at a conference for officials from the 17 countries and international organisations that make up the ILRS suggests Beijing supports the idea, although it has never formally announced it. Beijing supports the idea, although it has never formally announced it. (Photo: AFP) advertisementThe latest announcement comes even as Nasa struggles to get Artemis mission timeline sorted amid a new push to go to Mars under the new Trump administration backed by SpaceX chief Elon timeline to build an outpost on the moon's south pole coincides with NASA's more ambitious and advanced Artemis programme, which aims to put U.S. astronauts back on the lunar surface in December said last year that a "basic model" of the ILRS, with the Moon's south pole as its core, would be built by 2035. In the future, China will create the "555 Project," inviting 50 countries, 500 international scientific research institutions, and 5,000 overseas researchers to join the from Roscosmos also presented at the conference in Shanghai, sharing details about plans to look for mineral and water resources, including possibly using lunar material as fuel.
Metro
24-04-2025
- Science
- Metro
China plans to build nuclear plant on the moon to power base shared with Russia
China plans to build a nuclear power plant on the moon to fuel a research station it intends to open with Russia there, a senior official confirmed. No Chinese astronaut has ever set foot on the moon – but within 10 years China aims to have a permanent lunar base on its surface. From there the 'Inernational Lunar Research Station' (ILRS), China hopes to launch manned missions to other planets. 'An important question for the ILRS is power supply', Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar exploration program, said this week. 'In this Russia has a natural advantage, when it comes to nuclear power plants, especially sending them into space, it leads the world, it is ahead of the United States.' But the USA has its own plans in motion. The only country to land people on the moon, the US hasn't sent a mission there since 1972. Now it wants to land two astronauts on the moon's surface in 2027, with a proposed base to follow later. The USA's history in space is long, but China has made rapid progress this century. China's Shenzhou 5 mission in 2003 made it only the third country with that ability. A decade later it landed the Chang'e 3 robotic rover on the moon. Then China sent once to Mars, which he plans to send humans to by 2033. More Trending If China does manage to build a nuclear power plant on the moon, it could open up new doors for space travel. Yury Borisov, former head of Russia's Roscosmos, said last year: 'This huge, cyclopean structure would be able, thanks to a nuclear reactor and high-power turbines, to transport large cargos from one orbit to another, collect space debris and engage in many other applications.' One of the reasons countries are competing to gain a foothold on the moon is the natural resources they could exploit there, according to Royal Museums Greenwich. The moon is believed to contain deposits of metal oxides, silicon, titanium, rare earth metals and aluminium – plus enough helium-3 to 'solve humanity's energy demand for around 10,000 years', according to one of China's top lunar scientists Ouyang Ziyuan. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Every country on the Foreign Office 'do not travel list' right now MORE: Three explosions rock central Moscow near shopping centre MORE: Key figures abruptly pull out of crunch Ukraine peace summit in London today
