In a striking move that signals a new phase in the lunar space race, China and Russia have announced a joint plan to install a nuclear power plant on the moon by 2035. The reactor will serve as the energy hub for the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), a planned robotic and, eventually, human outpost near the moon’s south pole.

The memorandum, signed earlier this month by Russia’s space agency Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration (CNSA), marks the latest and boldest step in their deepening partnership.

“The station will conduct fundamental space research and test technology for long-term uncrewed operations of the ILRS, with the prospect of a human being’s presence on the Moon,” Roscosmos said in a statement on May 8.

While details remain sparse, Russian officials say the reactor’s construction will be carried out autonomously, without human intervention on the lunar surface. “The technological steps are almost ready,” Roscosmos director general Yury Borisov said in an earlier interview with Russian state news outlet TASS.

A Global Lunar Rivalry

The International Lunar Research Station is emerging as a direct competitor to NASA’s Artemis program. Artemis, a U.S.-led initiative involving 55 countries, aims to establish an orbital station around the moon — known as Gateway — and return astronauts to the lunar surface as early as December 2025 (highly unlikely; more on that later).

But the Chinese-Russian alliance is expanding rapidly. Since its formal unveiling in 2021, the ILRS has welcomed 17 partner countries, including Egypt, Venezuela, and South Africa. That number could grow dramatically under China’s new “555 Project,” which seeks to involve 50 countries, 500 scientific research institutions, and 5,000 researchers worldwide.

The moon’s southern pole, where both ILRS and Artemis aim to establish a foothold, has drawn interest for its prolonged sunlight and suspected stores of water ice. For China and Russia, it is also a springboard toward more distant goals — including Mars.

The ILRS blueprint includes robotic construction phases beginning with the Chang’e-8 mission in 2028. That mission is set to test technologies for autonomous building using 3D-printed bricks made from lunar soil and could mark China’s first crewed lunar landing. From 2030 to 2035, five heavy-lift rocket launches will carry components to the moon. By 2050, China envisions a sprawling network of lunar bases powered by solar, radioisotope, and nuclear energy — complete with rovers, lunar hoppers, and high-speed communications linking Earth and the moon’s far side.

Why Nuclear?

Energy is one of the most difficult problems of living and working on the moon. Sunlight is not always available — especially near craters where permanent shadows might hide water ice. Batteries and solar panels may not be enough.

That’s where nuclear power comes in. While the U.S. has explored fission-based space reactors through its NASA Kilopower project, it’s Russia that has a long history of space-based nuclear systems, dating back to its Cold War-era satellite programs.

“Russia has a natural advantage when it comes to nuclear power plants, especially sending them into space,” said Wu Weiren, the chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program, in comments to Reuters. “It leads the world, it is ahead of the United States.”

China appears ready to adopt this capability. In a recent presentation in Shanghai, Pei Zhaoyu, deputy director of the China National Space Administration’s Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center, listed nuclear energy — alongside solar arrays and pipeline infrastructure — as part of the ILRS’s proposed energy grid.

If successful, this would be the first nuclear reactor ever deployed on another celestial body. It would power not only research instruments, but also heating systems, communication networks, and rovers exploring the moon’s icy terrain.

Politics Beyond Earth

The timing of the announcement is not accidental.

Just days earlier, the Trump administration released its proposed 2026 budget, which includes a plan to cancel NASA’s Gateway lunar space station — a cornerstone of Artemis. That decision has cast uncertainty over NASA’s broader moon strategy, which already faces delays. Artemis III, once planned for 2025, is now expected to launch in 2027 at the earliest.

Meanwhile, China’s lunar program is surging forward. In 2024, the Chang’e-6 mission made history by becoming the first to return samples from the far side of the moon — a feat no other country has achieved. Chinese state media hailed the sample return as “an unprecedented feat in human lunar exploration history.”

The ILRS, though initially discussed in 2017, gained momentum after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine isolated it from many Western space partnerships. With Roscosmos increasingly cut off from U.S. and European space technology, China has stepped in as a critical partner, providing not just political support but also technical capabilities.

The deepening “no limits” alliance has alarmed some observers. “The moon is becoming a new theater of geopolitical competition,” said one European analyst following the ILRS developments. And unlike earlier space ventures, this one may not be driven solely by science.

The moon is believed to contain valuable resources — including rare Earth metals, oxygen-rich regolith, and helium-3, a potential fuel for future fusion reactors. While the 1967 Outer Space Treaty bans nations from claiming sovereignty over celestial bodies, the race to extract lunar resources is heating up, and legal interpretations vary.

What Comes Next?

Construction of the ILRS will begin in earnest after 2028. By 2035, if timelines hold, a basic outpost with robotic systems and nuclear power should be in place. From there, the plan expands: more modules, more countries, and — eventually — crewed missions.

NASA, for its part, still hopes to land astronauts on the moon before China. But with its funding in question and delays piling up, the momentum may be shifting.