SHANGHAI - China is considering building a nuclear plant on the moon to power the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) it is planning with Russia, a presentation by a senior official showed on Wednesday, Eduardo Baptista writes for Reuters. Continue reading original article.
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
29 April 2025 - China plans to land astronauts on the moon by 2030 and build a permanent base, starting with the Chang’e-8 mission in 2028. The base could use solar arrays and surface pipelines for energy, and China may also partner with Russia to install a nuclear reactor by 2035. Though not formally announced, Chinese officials recently signaled support for nuclear power on the moon. China's ILRS project, aimed for completion by 2035, could involve 50 countries and thousands of researchers.
"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.
Related: UK Space Agency backs Rolls-Royce and BWXT space reactor development
Jamie Whitney, Senior Editor
Military + Aerospace Electronics
