Russia is reportedly planning to establish a nuclear power plant on the moon within the next decade.
This ambitious project aims to supply energy for its lunar space programme and a joint research station with China, as global powers intensify their efforts in lunar exploration.
Historically, Russia has held a prominent position in space, notably with Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering journey in 1961.
However, its dominance has waned in recent decades, with the nation now trailing behind the United States and, increasingly, China.
The country’s lunar aspirations faced a significant setback in August 2023 when its uncrewed Luna-25 mission crashed during a landing attempt.
Furthermore, the landscape of space launches, once a Russian speciality, has been revolutionised by figures such as Elon Musk, adding to the competitive pressure.
So I’m curious, normally a nuclear power plant uses mass amounts of water to heat and cool in a steam based engine/turbine essentially, thus creating the power. Would this not take at least 300 successful moon landings just to get the water there, let alone the storage for the water and any other materials needed. So I imagine minimal 500 moon landings to get a small makeshift power station? Or am I missing something drastic here…