Andrei Babkin, deputy commander of the cosmonaut detachment at Russia’s space corporation, said a nuclear power plant on the Moon is a prerequisite for further exploration, including crewed missions, adding “without such a plant, further lunar exploration is simply impossible.” He cited the ~14-Earth-day lunar night and extreme cold as reasons nuclear is the only reliable, safe power solution. Rosatom chief Alexey Likhachev has said Russia plans to build its first lunar nuclear power plant by th

Andrei Babkin, deputy commander of the cosmonaut detachment at Russia’s space corporation, said a nuclear power plant on the Moon is a prerequisite for further exploration, including crewed missions, adding “without such a plant, further lunar exploration is simply impossible.” He cited the ~14-Earth-day lunar night and extreme cold as reasons nuclear is the only reliable, safe power solution. Rosatom chief Alexey Likhachev has said Russia plans to build its first lunar nuclear power plant by the mid-2030s.