Russia, China eye nuclear power plant on moon

Deutsche Welle :

Moscow plans to contribute its expertise in “nuclear space energy” to a joint lunar program with China, including a nuclear power plant on the moon, Russia’s space agency chief Yuri Borisov said on Monday.
Borisov warned that solar panels would not be enough to ensure a reliable supply of electricity to potential lunar settlements.
“Today we are seriously considering a project – somewhere at the turn of 2033-2035 – to deliver and install a power unit on the lunar surface together with our Chinese colleagues,” Borisov said during a youth event. Some in the US have speculated that Russia is planning to use a new type of nuclear weapon against satellites. But the Roskosmos chief, who took over Roskosmos in 2022, insisted that Russia had no plans of stationing nuclear weapons in space.
A nuclear plant on the moon would need to be made by machines, Borisov added, saying there were already usable technical solutions for the project.
In March 2021, Moscow and Beijing signed an agreement on building an international lunar research station, and presented a roadmap for the construction in June 2021.