Russia Signals It May Put Nuclear Plant On The Moon

Russia has said that it is considering putting a nuclear power plant in cooperation with China according to a Reuters report. This was stated by the head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov.

According to a report in RT news, Borisov who was appointed to head the Russian space agency in 2022, had claimed on Tuesday that the technology needed for a lunar nuclear development was already almost ready. He added that Russia and China would be working together on this, and Moscow would be able to contribute with its expertise on “nuclear space energy.”

“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 at the World Youth Festival near Sochi.

According to the RT report, Borisov added that nuclear power was the only feasible option for providing the energy needed to settle on the moon as solar energy would not be enough.

President Putin has however indicated earlier that he has no intention of putting nuclear weapons in space   

The developments come as concern over Ukraine has risen in the West. Western analysts believe that Russia has gained the upper hand recently in the ongoing war.

An escalating war of words has also taken place between the US on one side and Russia and China on the other over the weaponisation of space.

According to a South China Morning Post report, US Space Command chief Gen. Stephen Whiting had told the US Senate Armed Services Committee would become a “world class” space power by 2030 and in doing so would seek to challenge the US in space.

“[China] is growing its military space and counterspace capabilities at breathtaking pace to deny American and allied space capabilities when they so choose,” he said.

“With their space and counterspace systems, they have dramatically increased their ability to monitor, track and target US and allied forces, both terrestrially and in orbit.”

Beijing had retorted that it remained committed to the “peaceful use of space.”

The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 to which the US, Russia, and China are signatories, bans the use of nuclear weapons in outer space.

However, concerns have grown recently in Washington over the Russian space programme.

On February 15, the New York Times reported that US government officials had informed Congress and its allies that Russia was working towards a space-based nuclear weapon to target American satellites.

They voiced concern that this could mean that Moscow was preparing to pull out of the treaty.

However, they concluded that the intelligence suggested Russia did not mean to deploy the weapon as of now and it did not seem an “urgent threat.”