Russia and China are planning to build nuclear reactor on the moon to power settlements



Russia and China appear have to joint aspirations of building a nuclear reactor on the moon to power future settlements. According to Yuri Borisov, the CEO of Russia's equivalent to NASA, Roscosmos, the construction of the reactor would be part of an unmanned mission relying on those technological solutions the two nations intend to master in the latter half of this decade.

"Today, we are seriously considering a project to deliver to the moon and mount a power reactor there jointly with our Chinese partners somewhere between 2033 and 2035," Borisov said during a talk at the World Youth Festival in Krasnodar Krai, Russia.

The work on the reactor would be automated on account of radiation.

Reuters noted that nuclear power is regarded as necessary because solar panels apparently do not generate enough electricity to power future lunar settlements.

In addition to a nuclear reactor and an "interplanetary station" on the moon, Borisov suggested Russia was also "working on a space tugboat. This huge, cyclopean structure that would be able, thanks to a nuclear reactor and high-power turbines ... to transport large cargoes from one orbit to another, collect space debris, and engage in many other applications."

Russian state media noted that Roscosmos and China National Space Administration signed an agreement in March 2021 to cooperate on the development of an international lunar research station. To advance this project, Beijing plans on sending three missions, Chang'e 6, Chang'e 7, and Chang'e 8.

The construction of a nuclear reactor on the moon would be part of a subsequent series of lunar missions.

The initial lunar missions, scheduled to begin in 2026 and proceed through 2028, would test key technology and set the groundwork for a robotics base where experiments and research could be conducted remotely.

CNSA plans to launch a relay satellite to work in conjunction with the Chang'e 6 mission sometime this year, reported CNN.

China appears to have been emboldened in its cosmic pursuits after the successful construction of its orbital Tiangong space station in 2022 and its rover's journey to the dark side of the moon in 2019.

Gen. Stephen Whiting, the U.S. Space Command chief, told the Senate Armed Services Committee last week that space has become an "expanding security challenge" and that communist China was growing its "military space and counterspace abilities at a breathtaking pace," reported The Hill.

On Tuesday at the 2024 Space Summit, Whiting indicated that Russia, too, poses a "formidable" challenge to the U.S. in space even though its first lunar mission in decades, Luna 25, crashed into the moon's surface last year.

Newsweek indicated that Borisov's announcement of possible fission on the moon has the wonks at the Institute for the Study of War concerned about a fusion of Russia and China's long-term strategies.

The ISW, a think tank based in Washington, D.C., suggested that Borisov's remarks were "indicative of warming relations and Chinese willingness to foster a long-term strategic partnership with Russia to posture against and possibly threaten the West."

"A strategic space partnership with China suggests that Russia would be unlikely to use this or similar technology against China and that both states would mutually benefit from Russia's posturing against the West through space and satellite technology," added the ISW.

The strategic ties between China and Russia have been strengthening in recent years, especially economically.

The Straits Times noted that Sino-Russia trade hit a record high of $240 billion last year.

China's foreign minister Wang Yi said Thursday that the two powers have created "a new paradigm of great power relations that is completely different from that of old Cold War era."

According to Bonny Lin, the director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Russia's war against Ukraine has helped to solidify Moscow's relationship with Beijing.

Lin offered various reasons to account for this solidification, but noted that Western efforts to economically punish Russia over its invasion of Ukraine especially "amplified concerns in Beijing that Washington and its allies could be similarly unaccommodating toward Chinese designs on Taiwan."

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FACT CHECK: No, India Did Not Fake Its Lunar Lander Landing

A post shared on X, the platform formerly known as X, claims that India faked its lunar lander landing. BREAKING: India FAKES moon landing. pic.twitter.com/nWp58rDwxG — Stew Peters (@realstewpeters) August 23, 2023 Verdict: False The video shown is a simulation, not the actual landing. The actual landing is real. Fact Check: India landed a lunar lander […]

India nails lunar landing, becoming first nation to park a spacecraft on moon's south pole



India became the fourth nation to pull off a successful soft lunar landing and the first to park in one piece on the moon's south pole Wednesday.

The Indian Space Research Organization set down the Chandrayaan-3 without incident — unlike Russia, whose unmanned Luna-25 spacecraft "ceased to exist as a result" of its Aug. 19 collision.

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The Indian vessel landed around 8:30 a.m. ET in a region of great interest to scientists where ice resides in permanently shadowed craters, reported the Washington Post.

Ian Whittaker, a senior lecturer in physics at Nottingham Trent University, told Al Jazeera that the Chandrayaan-3's landing opens up possibilities for future lunar bases.

"Landing on the south pole, or near the south pole area, is actually really important because it’s the sort of area we’d be looking for a lunar base," said Whittaker. "There’s water there, which was one of the findings of Chandrayaan-1. This water can be used for a lot of things. We could also look for building materials."

Knowledge of the presence of water on the moon was resultant, in part, from a NASA instrument carried by one of Chandrayaan-3's predecessors, which had detected hydroxyl hidden in the lunar shade, reported the BBC.

That predecessor, the Chandrayaan-1, crash-landed on the moon on Nov. 14, 2008, near the Shackleton crater at the south pole.

The sequel, Chandrayaan-2, managed to enter the lunar orbit in August 2019 but deviated from its intended trajectory owing to a software glitch and crashed.

The ISRO confirmed Tuesday that the Chandrayaan-3, launched on July 14 from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, was on schedule and "smooth sailing is continuing," reported CNN.

That smooth sailing was caught on film:

Watch: The moon's surface from India's lunar probe at it flies to landing zoneyoutu.be

The entire mission cost $75 million, less than half of what Russia's Luna-25 cost to blow to smithereens and roughly equivalent to the unit cost of five F-16A/B jet fighters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who joined some of his nation's 1.42 billion souls remotely from the BRICS summit in South Africa, said, "My dear family, when we see history being made in front of us, it makes our life blessed. ... This moment is the announcement of an advanced India. These moments are of invention and phenomenal growth. ... We had taken a pledge on earth and realized it on the moon."

The prime minister added, "This success belongs to all of humanity."

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson congratulated India on doing what American pulled off with a manned crew and basic computers 54 years ago, writing, "Congratulations ISRO on your successful Chandrayaan-3 lunar South Pole landing! And congratulations to India on being the 4th country to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon. We're glad to be your partner on this mission.

Josef Aschbacher, director general of the European Space Agency, stated, "What a way to demonstrate new technologies and achieve India’s first soft landing on another celestial body. ... Well done. I am thoroughly impressed."

The Kremlin also commended India on its success, stating, "This is a big step forward in space exploration and, of course, a testament to the impressive progress made by India in the field of science and technology."

Once the dust settles around the spacecraft, which will apparently take hours, Pragyaan, a rover aboard the vessel, will exit the Chandrayaan-2 and commence its moon walk at a breakneck pace of 0.39 inches per second.

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