Latest news with #YuryBorisov
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
China signs deal with Russia to build a power plant on the moon — potentially leaving the US in the dust
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Russia has signed a deal with China to build a nuclear power plant on the moon. The Russian reactor will be used to power the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), jointly led by China and Russia, and should be completed by 2036, according to a memorandum of cooperation signed by the two nations. The announcement comes just after NASA revealed a 2026 budget proposal that would axe the agency's plans for an orbital lunar base. The construction of the Chinese-Russian reactor will likely be carried out autonomously "without the presence of humans," according to a 2024 interview with Yury Borisov, director general of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, on the Russian state-owned news site TASS. While details of how this can be achieved remain unclear, Borisov added that the technological steps are "almost ready." "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 wrote in a May 8 announcement following the signing of the memorandum. The new research station, a permanent, manned lunar base located on the moon's south pole, has so far attracted 17 countries to join the program — including Egypt, Pakistan, Venezuela, Thailand and South Africa. Its groundwork will be laid by China's 2028 Chang'e-8 mission, which will be the nation's first time landing an astronaut on the lunar surface. Related: Russia and China announce plan to build shared nuclear reactor on the moon by 2035, 'without humans' The roadmap for the ILRS was first unveiled in June 2021, with China and Russia announcing they would loft the pieces for a robotic moon base using five super heavy-lift rocket launches from 2030 to 2035. Once these basic pieces are established, China plans additional launches that will extend the base further, connecting it to a space station orbiting the moon and two nodes located at the moon's equator and its far side, Wu Yanhua, the chief designer of China's deep exploration project, said at a 2024 media conference, according to state media outlet Xinhua. This extended model, laying the foundations for manned landings on Mars, should be completed by 2050. It "will be powered by solar, radioisotope and nuclear generators," Wu said. "It will also include lunar-Earth and high-speed lunar surface communication networks, as well as lunar vehicles like a hopper, an unmanned long-range vehicle, and pressurized and unpressurized manned rovers." RELATED STORIES —Russia is developing a space-based nuclear weapon to target satellites, U.S. Congress reveals —China's secret space plane deploys 6 unknown objects in orbit, and some are emitting signals —Russian satellite narrowly avoids collision with US spacecraft, and NASA could do nothing to stop it The memorandum comes at a time of growing ambition for China's space programs. The country has had a lunar presence since the 2013 landing of the Chang'e 3 mission, which placed a rover on the moon. Subsequent missions landed more rovers on the moon and Mars, while collecting samples from the moon's near and far sides, and mapped out the lunar surface. China's race to build a lunar outpost also has an American rival in the Artemis program, which has recently been beset by delays. Artemis III, which will see NASA astronauts return to our nearest natural satellite for the first time in over 50 years, is expected to launch sometime in 2027. Meanwhile, the future of NASA's own planned lunar space station, dubbed Gateway and initially slated for launch as soon as 2027, has been thrown into question with the release of the Trump administration's proposed 2026 budget. The budget calls for canceling the Gateway mission, despite significant progress on building the station's modules.
India.com
14-05-2025
- Science
- India.com
These two nations join hands up to build a nuclear power plant on the moon; not US, UK, France, India, Japan, they are...
(Representational Image/AI-generated) In a major development that could once again trigger a new space race between major world powers, China and Russia have teamed up to build a nuclear power plant on the Moon. According to reports, the revolutionary project, which is expected to be completed by 2036, will power International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), another major undertaking led by the two allies. The announcement comes at a time when US space agency NASA has called for cancellation of its planned orbital station on the Moon in its 2026 budget proposal, while its Artemis program– which aims to send American astronauts back to the moon after nearly five decades– is facing challenges due to delays and budget cuts. Sino-Russian lunar nuclear power plant to power ILRS As per reports, China and Russia recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a permanent human base on the lunar south pole, and build a nuclear power plant that will power the base and the ILRS– a revolutionary project designed for scientific research and long-term unmanned operations, including the possibility of future human presence on the Moon. Yury Borisov, General Director of Russian space agency Roscosmos, said the nuclear plant will be built 'without human presence', hinting at advanced robots carrying out the construction on the lunar surface. Borisov did not provide any details on the technology required for such an endeavor but said the pre-requisites are 'almost ready'. As per details, the construction of the lunar nuclear plant is scheduled to begin between 2030 and 2035, and expected to completed by 2036. The foundation stone for the ILRS will be laid in 2028 with China's Chang'e-8 mission, its first manned mission to the Moon. What is the ILRS mission, and why its a gamechanger? The International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), is an ambitious project jointly led by China and Russia, which aims to establish a permanent human-controlled base on the moon's south pole for conducting scientific research. First announced by Moscow and Beijing in June 2021, it now includes as a many as 17 other countries, including Pakistan, Egypt, Venezuela, Thailand and South Africa. The ILRS will be constructed using materials shipped via five super heavy-lift rocket launches from 2030 to 2035, and the station is planned to be expanded by 2050 to include an orbital space station, two nodes on the moon's equator and its far side. The ambitious lunar research station will be powered by solar, radioisotope and nuclear generators, and will feature high-speed communication networks on the Moon-Earth and lunar surface, lunar vehicles and manned rovers. The ILRS aims to provide a major technological footing for humans on the moon for research, long-term unmanned operations, and also aims to serve as a base for manned missions to Mars. China's rapidly expanding space program Notably, China has rapidly developed its space program over the las decade, landing its first lunar rover in the 2013 Chang'e-3 mission. Since then, Beijing has sent several rovers to the moon and Mars, collecting samples from the near and far sides of the moon and mapping the lunar surface. China's Chang'e-8 mission aims to land Chinese astronauts on the moon by 2030, as Beijing looks to cement its place as the undisputed global leader in space research and missions, replacing its rival, the United States.
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
Bloomberg
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Putin Replaces Head of Russian Space Agency in Surprise Move
Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the chief of Roscosmos and replaced him with another official in a surprise shake up at one of the world's biggest space agencies. Yury Borisov, 68, was succeeded by 39-year-old Dmitry Bakanov, a former deputy transportation minister. The Kremlin gave no reason for the switch in a statement on Thursday.
