RUSSIAN LUNAR NUCLEAR PLAN

N - April 14, 2026 - Representatives of Russia’s Rosatom and Roscosmos have revealed details plans for the construction of lunar infrastructure. Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Bakanov said that the Luna-26 and Luna-27 spacecraft are currently being developed to study the polar regions of the Moon, search for water, and test soft landing. This is part of the wider International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) project involving Russia, together with China and 13 other countries, to build an international scientific lunar station for which Russia is developing a lunar nuclear power plant.

While primarily a collaboration between Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration, it also involves the Kurchatov Institute for core research and NPO Lavochkin for spacecraft development.

Valery Efremov, chief designer of the nuclear centre in Sarov, spoke about the initiative to create small-capacity nuclear plants based on radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). Such a station will be able to operate autonomously for at least 10 years and will be used to prepare the infrastructure for the placement of the lunar NPP which is planned for 2036.

The first launch on the Angara 5M rocket will send a service lunar rover and equipment. The second will send a regular lunar rover and a charging and distribution station. The third will send the nuclear installation itself. The lunar rover will connect it with a cable to the charging station, after which the power supply will begin to clients who will land in the area of the station.

Rosatom is already developing the lunar NPP. A prototype of the system, called “Selena”, will be ready by 2032, the President of the Kurchatov Institute, Mikhail Kovalchuk, told a scientific conference at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The “Selena” power module is being developed using direct energy conversion technology. This allows thermal energy from the reactor to be converted into electricity without intermediate mechanical stages, which increases the reliability of the system in space and at extreme temperatures.

The minimum required power of the unit is 5-10 kW, and its service life is estimated at 10 years. These characteristics are sufficient to power scientific equipment, communication systems, and life support for future automatic or manned lunar bases. According to Kovalchuk, by 2032, specialists plan to assemble and test the main pilot of the power module. The space-adapted version will likely utilise a lead-bismuth alloy for cooling. Roscosmos plans to deliver and install the unit autonomously using robotic systems to avoid the risks of human presence during the initial setup.

Rosatom is also co-operating in the design of the Russian Orbital Station (ROS). Likhachev and Bakanov discussed this during the first Russian Space Forum. They plan to launch the first ROS module in 2028 and form a full configuration by 2034. The station should become the main platform for deep space exploration, in particular for the construction of the lunar base. Roscosmos intends to use Rosatom’s industrial software and digital applications for automated engineering calculations and modelling the life cycle of products. «We must give Rosatom its due: it has overtaken us in digital technologies,” Bakanov commented.

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