Russia's lunar power plant to be built by 2036 - Roscosmos

MOSCOW. Dec 24 (Interfax) - Roscosmos and NPO Lavochkin have signed a contract for building a Russian lunar power plant by 2036, the Roscosmos press service said on Wednesday.

"In December 2025, Roscosmos signed a state contract with NPO Lavochkin to complete the work on building a Russian lunar power plant by 2036. The contract term is 2025-2026," the statement said.

The work will include the development of spacecraft, ground trials, test flights, and deployment of the infrastructure on the Moon, it said.

The main task of the power plant will be long-term power supply to Russian lunar program actors and infrastructure of the international lunar research station, including facilities of foreign partners, the statement said.

"This project is an important step towards a permanently functioning lunar research station and the transition from one-off missions to a long-term lunar research program," it said.

Roscosmos, Rosatom and the Kurchatov Institute will take part in the construction of the lunar power plant, the statement said.

Then Roscosmos head Yury Borisov said on March 3, 2024, that Russia and China were planning to deliver and deploy a nuclear power plant on the Moon sometime in 2033-2035.

Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration signed a memorandum on cooperation in building the lunar power plant on May 8.

Russia and China signed an intergovernmental memorandum on cooperation in the establishment of the international lunar research station in March 2021 and presented a roadmap for building the joint lunar station on June 16 of the same year.

According to the published intergovernmental agreement, Russia and China have planned five joint missions as part of the international lunar research station project in order to deploy modules in the lunar orbit and on the lunar surface.