Russia is reportedly planning to establish a nuclear power plant on the moon within the next decade.
This ambitious project aims to supply energy for its lunar space programme and a joint research station with China, as global powers intensify their efforts in lunar exploration.
Historically, Russia has held a prominent position in space, notably with Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering journey in 1961.
However, its dominance has waned in recent decades, with the nation now trailing behind the United States and, increasingly, China.
The country’s lunar aspirations faced a significant setback in August 2023 when its uncrewed Luna-25 mission crashed during a landing attempt.
Furthermore, the landscape of space launches, once a Russian speciality, has been revolutionised by figures such as Elon Musk, adding to the competitive pressure.
Russia doesn’t even have any functioning launch pads for manned flights after the Baikonur Cosmodrome was damaged in November
They have other launch platforms that can be used to reach the moon, but Baikonur is specifically suitable for reaching the very specific orbit of the ISS without a plane change manuver.
What they most specifically lack is access to modern hardened semiconductors. They are throwing all those at Ukraine.
One other, Vostochniy, which is also not exactly doing great
Crewed or non-crewed even! They can’t even launch crewless Progress resupply vehicles to the ISS right now.