by Edd Gent in Singularity Hub: Supporting any future settlement on the moon would require considerable amounts of energy. Russia and China think a nuclear power plant is the best option, and they have plans to build one by the mid-2030s… These ambitious plans face a major challenge though—how to power all this equipment. The go-to energy source in space is solar power, but lunar nights last 14 days, so unless we want to haul huge numbers of batteries along for the ride, it won’t suffice for more permanent installations.
That’s why Russia and China are currently working on a plan to develop a nuclear power plant that could support the pair’s ambitious joint exploration program, Yuri Borisov, the head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said during a recent public event. “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,” he said, according to Reuters.
Borisov provided few details other than saying that one of Russia’s main contributions to the countries’ lunar plans was its expertise in “nuclear space energy.” He added that they were also developing a nuclear-powered spaceship designed to ferry cargo around in orbit…
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VIDEO: Solar Lantern
