Russia and China are planning to install a joint nuclear power plant on the moon by between 2033-2035, the head of Russia’s space agency said on Tuesday.
The two countries are collaborating on the International Lunar Research Station, a massive complex on the moon that is scheduled to break ground in 2026. This proposed base will have a radius of nearly four miles and be larger than any Disney theme park. It will accommodate scientists who will conduct in-depth studies on the properties of the moon.
Yuri Borisov, the head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, said that Russia’s Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration have been collaborating since signing an agreement in 2021 to build a research station on the moon by the end of 2035.
The project involves developing several lunar landers for research, a jumping robot, and smart mini-rovers designed to study the moon’s surface. It will also establish communications and power systems. China plans to send three missions to the moon’s surface, including the upcoming Change 6 mission scheduled for launch in May.
Meanwhile, NASA and the Energy Department are developing plans for nuclear power on the moon, having announced contracts with three companies to assist with the project in 2021. The aim is to establish a nuclear power plant on the moon in the early 2030s. NASA officials suggest a completion date for homes on the moon’s surface by 2040.
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Russia launched it’s first mission to the moon in 47 years
Russia is ahead of the curve in this particular space race, having launched its first mission to the moon’s surface in 47 years in August.
The Russians designed the Luna-25 spacecraft to be the first to ever land on the moon’s south pole. However, the Luna-25 spacecraft subsequently spun out of control and crashed into the moon, while India’s Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft also crashed due to a software error.
Following these incidents, Roscosmos announced its intention to send cosmonauts to land on the moon within the next decade, with plans to establish a moon base by 2031. This competition between Russia and India coincides with efforts by other countries, including the U.S., China, and Japan, which have announced plans to explore the moon in recent years.
For instance, Japan successfully landed a rover on the moon in January, albeit upside-down, resulting in intermittent power restoration due to the solar panels’ position. Last month, Intuitive Machines achieved the milestone of landing the first American spacecraft on the moon in over 50 years, although the spacecraft landed sideways near the moon’s south pole, leading to power loss.
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Meeting uranium needs on earth and abroad
Initially, nuclear power stations on the moon would require uranium from Earth for fuel. Uranium is the primary fuel used in nuclear reactors, and as of now, there are no known uranium deposits on the moon. Therefore, in the early stages of establishing nuclear power stations on the moon, the uranium would need to be transported from Earth.
That doesn’t present much of an issue for Russia and China.
Russia has domestic uranium reserves and operates several uranium mines. Some of the major uranium-producing regions in Russia include the Kurgan, Transbaikal, and Streltsovsky regions.
Since 2013, Moscow-based Uranium One Group, a part of the Russian state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom, wholly owns Uranium One, an international group of companies.
China also has uranium reserves and operates several uranium mines of its own. Some of the major uranium-producing regions in China include the Xinjiang, Jiangxi, and Inner Mongolia regions.
In addition to domestic production, China imports uranium from various countries to meet its nuclear fuel needs. Kazakhstan is one of the main suppliers of uranium to China.
The United States, however, has recently run into a series of problems regarding uranium production for its swiftly aging fleet of reactors. At present, it’s closed down a trade relationship with its Russian uranium supplier and forced itself into a corner in terms of meeting its own demand. Part of getting out of that corner involves more of a reliance on Canada’s Athabasca Basin and other suppliers.
In this case, it means reliance on companies like Cameco Corporation (NYSE: CCJ) (TSX: CCO), Denison Mines (TSX: DML) and ATHA Energy Corp. (TSXV: SASK) (FRA: X5U) (OTCQB: SASKF), each of which possess large uranium operations in the basin.
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