China and Russia sign nuclear reactor deal to fuel lunar research station

China and Russia have signed a deal to build a nuclear power plant on the moon, a project that would provide energy for a jointly developed International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), targeted to be up and running by 2036.

A memorandum of cooperation signed by both nations last week laid the groundwork for construction of a lunar reactor, a crucial element to sustain a human presence on the moon – a goal that both China and the United States are separately hoping to achieve.

The China National Space Administration and Russian space agency Roscosmos signed the agreement during a visit to Moscow by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“The Russian power plant will be an important contribution to the International Lunar Research Station project,” Roscosmos said in a statement last Thursday.

With the ILRS, China and Russia aim to establish a permanent research base on the moon’s south pole by the mid-2030s to conduct fundamental space research and test technologies for establishing a long-term human presence on the moon, Roscosmos said, adding that 13 countries had joined the project.

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The memorandum was one of more than two dozen agreements reached during negotiations last week in Moscow between Xi and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, according to the Kremlin.

South China Morning Post