- Category
- Latest news
Russia's Roscosmos Promises Moon Power by 2036, But Offers No Funding Plan or Technical Details
- Authors
![Photo of Roman Kohanets]( "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
Roscosmos, Russia’s state space corporation, has signed a state contract to develop a Russian lunar power station, with work scheduled from 2025 through 2036, according to the agency statement on December 24.
Roscosmos stated that the station is intended to provide “long-term power supply for consumers like lunar rovers and observatories under Russia’s lunar program and to support infrastructure for the International Scientific Lunar Station , including facilities linked to foreign partners.” The statement did not disclose the projected cost.
Every article pushes back against disinformation. Your support keeps our team in the field.
The agency did not explicitly say the plant would be nuclear, but it said participants included the Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and the Kurchatov Institute, Russia’s leading nuclear research institute.
The contract covers the development of spacecraft, ground-based experimental testing, flight tests, and the deployment of infrastructure on the Moon.
Roscosmos did not specify how the new power-station contract would be coordinated within that broader program, but it presented the project as a step toward a permanently operating scientific lunar station and a shift from one-off missions to a long-term lunar research effort.
Earlier, it was reported that Russia expressed readiness to supply a compact nuclear power plant for SpaceX’s planned Mars mission, and stated that Russian space officials had in 2023 discussed the idea of placing a nuclear power plant on the moon with China to support future lunar settlements.
-72b63a4e0c8c475ad81fe3eed3f63729.jpeg "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
