Overview

• China has informally endorsed plans to build a nuclear power plant on the Moon, as revealed during a Shanghai conference on lunar exploration.
• The reactor, developed in partnership with Russia, would provide energy for the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), with deployment targeted by 2035.
• China's Chang’e-8 mission in 2028 will lay the groundwork for a permanent lunar base, with a crewed Moon landing planned by 2030.
• In addition to nuclear power, the ILRS energy infrastructure will include large solar arrays and surface pipelines to ensure continuous power supply.
• The ILRS project reflects deeper Sino-Russian cooperation amid global competition, paralleling NASA’s Artemis program targeting a lunar base by the late 2020s.