According to Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao**, Russian Space Agency Director Borisov revealed on March 5 that China and Russia are closely discussing future plans to jointly build a nuclear power plant on the moon between 2033 and 2035, and may allow settlements on the moon.
He noted that solar panels would not provide enough power for future lunar settlements, and that nuclear power was considered a more viable option. According to Borisov, this is an extremely challenging task that needs to be completed in automatic mode.
Reuters also reported the news at the same time, mentioning that Russia's Luna-25 probe crashed out of control last year, which was Russia's first lunar mission in 47 years.
The recent cooperation plans between China and Russia have attracted much attention. At the 9th China (International) Commercial Space Summit Forum held in Wuhan, Zhang Hailian, deputy chief engineer of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, revealed that China plans to achieve a manned landing on the moon and carry out scientific exploration by 2030, and then will start to build a lunar scientific research test station to continue systematic and continuous lunar exploration and technical verification.
China and Russia have demonstrated a strong willingness to work together, and the 2021 Washington Post report confirms the ambition and determination of China and Russia to join forces in the field of lunar exploration.
While establishing a settlement on the moon is a huge challenge, there are also challenges such as overcoming technical problems and addressing funding needs.
In the author's opinion, there are four major technical problems worthy of attention:
The first is space technology, which must ensure the successful launch of the probe and at the same time ensure the safety of the return;
The second is life support technology, and lunar settlements must meet the necessary conditions for survival;
In addition, building technology, building stability and safety in the lunar environment are urgent problems to be solved;
Finally, there is communication technology to ensure that humanity is connected to each other and between the Moon and the Earth.
In addition, it is indispensable to invest resources and funds.
International cooperation is an important way to achieve lunar settlements, and only through coordination, resource sharing and joint exploration can more possibilities be opened to the future.