Two arch rivals, India and China, are likely to team up with Russia for setting up a nuclear power plant on the Moon.
This is according to a recent report in EurAsian Times, referring to Russia’s state-owned news agency Tass, saying this was highlighted by Rosatom chief, Alexey Likhachev. Rosatom is Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation having ties with India.
Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum recently at Vladivostok in Russia, Likhachev said: “… with the involvement of the international community, our Chinese and Indian partners are very interested in this,’’ he said.
India’s interest in the project assumes significance in the context of the country planning a manned mission to the Moon by 2040 and setting up a base.
According to Tass, the lunar power project, led by Rosatom, aims to build a small nuclear power plant capable of generating up to half a megawatt of energy, providing the necessary power for the base.
Likhachev reiterated that China and India are eager to be involved in creating this ground-breaking lunar energy solution. Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, had previously declared in May that work on this nuclear power plant was underway, intending to deploy it to the moon. The reactor will provide energy for a proposed lunar base, which Russia and China are jointly working on. India’s desire for a lunar base coincides with its possible participation in the lunar power project.
The construction of this lunar nuclear power plant will be complex. Russia previously revealed that it would likely be carried out autonomously without the direct involvement of humans. In 2021, Russia and China announced plans to build a joint lunar base called the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) which could be commissioned in phases between 2035 and 2045.
Experts said India is playing its diplomatic cards carefully with the US and Russia. While it is sending Shubhanshu Shukla of the Gaganyaan mission to the International Space Station in the US, it is now exploring the possibility of joining hands with China on the Russian lunar power project.
