Russia Plans a Nuclear Power Plant on the Moon Within a Decade (reuters.com)
- Reference: 0180451441
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/12/24/1724223/russia-plans-a-nuclear-power-plant-on-the-moon-within-a-decade
- Source link: https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/russia-plans-nuclear-power-plant-moon-within-decade-2025-12-24/
> Ever since Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to go into space in 1961, Russia has prided itself as 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 massive blow in August 2023 when its unmanned Luna-25 mission smashed into the surface of the moon while attempting to land, and Elon Musk has revolutionised the launch of space vehicles - once a Russian speciality.
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> Russia's state space corporation, Roscosmos, said in a statement that it planned to build a lunar power plant by 2036 and signed a contract with the Lavochkin Association aerospace company to do it. Roscosmos did not say explicitly that the plant would be nuclear but it said the participants included Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and the Kurchatov Institute, Russia's leading nuclear research institute. Roscosmos said the purpose of the plant was to power Russia's lunar programme, including rovers, an observatory and the infrastructure of the joint Russian-Chinese International Lunar Research Station.
[1] https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/russia-plans-nuclear-power-plant-moon-within-decade-2025-12-24/
Whatver you do (Score:2)
Do NOT take an iPad to the Moon.:-)
Re: (Score:2)
Because of the moon Nazis
I've watched Space 1999 (Score:3)
I know what will eventually happen.
Re: (Score:2)
You mean we didn't have an old moon base already from 1999? But I saw that show on Fox News!?
Hahaha no they don't. (Score:5, Insightful)
lol not even slightly.
They are spending money they don't have on making sure every last young man is either killed, maimed or flees the country. And now they can't get hold of decent machine tools or high end alloys either.
Re: (Score:2)
The summary indicated that it would be a joint project with China.
That's very old news (Score:2)
Originally, the moonbase was announced in 2004 to be ready by 2025.
[1]https://lenta.ru/news/2004/11/... [lenta.ru]
Then in 2006 the schedule moved closer, to 2015, with helium-3 extraction beginning in 2020.
[2]https://lenta.ru/news/2006/01/... [lenta.ru]
Obviously the base is already there and working, and the only thing that's missing is the nuclear reactor to burn that helium-3.
Any day now.
[1] https://lenta.ru/news/2004/11/22/moon/
[2] https://lenta.ru/news/2006/01/25/moon/
nuclear power plant on the moon? no way (Score:2)
They are going to need a really long extension cord, so that will never work
Radioactive crater on the moon won't hurt anyone (Score:2)
If Russia wants to waste money on pointless projects, more power to them. Or like they say - Flag into their hands.
Yeah right (Score:3)
And I ear theyâ(TM)re going to open a bar, so aliens from all planets can come and have a beer.
Yeah, well! (Score:3)
I'm gonna go build my own nuclear reactor on the moon! With blackjack! And hookers!
In fact, forget the nuclear reactor!
Re: (Score:2)
While you’re there could you pick up some of that nice green moon money for me? Royce McCutcheon!
Iâ(TM)m planning a nuclear fusion reactor (Score:1)
â¦On the Sun. Should be ready anytime
My guess is Elon musk or Amazon guy put them up to (Score:1)
Yea the russian know there is no value on the moon it make no sense what so ever. But for musk and amazon guy its a lot of funding and money.
The USA falls behind due to Republicans (Score:3)
You may think of this as a troll, but the, "how will we pay for it, what do we get for it?" crowd, which is primarily Republicans, are against research in science for the sake of learning and discovering. What they ALWAYS forget is that the things discovered during the planning and these pure science projects almost always lead to scientific discoveries that make a LOT of money. People who are short sighted just can't figure it out. Republicans of today would be against the ARPANET, because they don't have enough understanding of ANYTHING in science to understand the idea of potential.
Re: (Score:2)
That's currently true. Does it have to remain true?
Of course, I think the smaller bodies hold greater promise. It's easier to rebuild an asteroid.
But will it make NFTs of Lenin? (Score:2)
File this next to their supertriplemegaultrasonic tsunami torpedoes.
If I'm not mistaken (Score:4, Interesting)
A lot of the engineers that the Soviet Union and then Russia used in their space and nuclear programs were Ukrainian. I imagine even a signing bonus won't turn up many volunteers today or for the next 20 years.
Sounds cool (Score:2)
Do they also plan to make it to 2030 without total collapse?
The senseless attack on Ukraine, the human cost, the economic damage, the prestige and reputation...Putin has doomed Russia. At the rate this continues Russia and it's population will not recover for decades.
...but yeah nuclear power plan on the moon yeah? Russia has a great track record on nuclear power plant safety, who would opposed this?
How will they cool it? (Score:2)
How do they cool it? You can't use cooling towers like on a planet with atmosphere.
Re: (Score:2)
That's a real problem for all spaced based nuclear reactors (fusion included). It's a difficult problem, but not one that's intrinsically insoluble. And it really should be solved.
(My design goal here is building a large mobile habitat, but not within the next few decades. Ideally something that could be converted into a SLOW interstellar vehicle... say averaging less than 10 km/s different from the local drift. And subsisting by savaging off that drift. So it needs to be a pretty closed ecology.)
Russia's nuclear power plant on the Moon? (Score:2)
I would say that's funny.
Re: (Score:3)
They will be lucky to be able to fly an airplane a decade from now. OTOH the moon is probably a better place for a Russian reactor than anywhere on this planet, so there is that.