Russia to build nuclear power plant on moon
The Russian state space agency Roscosmos has announced plans to build a nuclear power plant on the moon. The project is part of a large-scale lunar mission.
In a statement published on Telegram on Thursday to mark Russia Day, Roscosmos chief Dmitry Bakanov said, "We are creating projects that will make us proud and contribute to economic development and improving the quality of life."
He added that Russia is planning to expand its satellite network to increase internet speed and coverage. In addition, an initiative has been taken to build a new Russian orbital station as the next alternative to the International Space Station.
"Bakanov stated, "We are getting ready to put the first nuclear power plant on the moon, which will be the foundation for a future lunar base. "We will also move forward with the exploration of Venus, because we are the only country to have successfully landed a spacecraft there."
Incidentally, the Soviet Union's Venera mission in 1970 was the first and only mission to land a probe on Venus.
"We have a big goal ahead of us," Bakanov said. "We need to implement a project that combines courage, foresight and engineering talent."
Bakanov took over as head of Roscosmos in February this year. His predecessor, Yuri Borisov, was dismissed for a series of failures and inactions.
But in August last year, Russia's first post-Soviet lunar probe, Luna 25, crashed on the moon before landing. The mission was Moscow's first return to space and an attempt to reassert itself against the backdrop of growing isolation from the West.
Russia's last successful lunar landing occurred in 1976. Since then, it has focused on exploring Venus and building the Mir space station.
