Roscosmos said the purpose of the plant was to power Russia’s lunar program, including rovers, an observatory and the infrastructure of the joint Russian-Chinese International Lunar Research Station. | Photo credit: istock.com
Since Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to go into space in 1961, Russia has prided itself on being a leading power in space exploration, but in recent decades it has fallen behind the United States and increasingly China.
Russia’s ambitions suffered a huge blow in August 2023 when the unmanned Luna-25 mission crashed into the moon’s surface while trying to land, and Elon Musk has revolutionized space vehicle launches – once a Russian specialty.
Russian state space company Roscosmos said in a statement that it planned to build a lunar power station by 2036 and signed a contract with the aerospace company Lavochkin Association.
Roscosmos said the purpose of the plant was to power Russia’s lunar program, including rovers, an observatory and the infrastructure of the joint Russian-Chinese International Lunar Research Station.
“The project is an important step towards the creation of a permanently functioning lunar scientific station and the transition from one-off missions to a long-term lunar exploration program,” Roscosmos said.
Roscosmos did not explicitly say the plant would be nuclear, but did say participants included Russian state-owned Rosatom and the Kurchatov Institute, Russia’s main nuclear research institute.
Roscosmos head Dmitry Bakanov said in June that one of the company’s goals was to place a nuclear power plant on the moon and explore Venus, known as Earth’s “sister planet.”
The moon, which is 384,400 km (238,855 miles) from our planet, moderates the Earth’s wobble on its axis, creating a more stable climate. It also causes tides in the world’s oceans.
Published on December 24, 2025
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