China and Russia have reportedly finalised a deal to build a nuclear power plant on the Moon by mid-2030s. Russia's space agency Roscosmos announced earlier this month that it has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the China National Space Administration (CNSA) the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) project which will be complete in the lunar south pole by 2026.

"The memorandum is included in the list of documents signed based on the outcomes of today's meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping," Roscosmos said in a statement. "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," it further stated adding that a total of 13 countries are now part of this project.

Last year, Roscosmos CEO Yuri Borisov had said that Russia is seriously considering partnering with China for the project. According to Borisov, the construction work will be completely automated.

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As part of the ILRS project, China is supposed to launch three Moon missions - Chang'e 6, Chang'e 7 and Chang'e 8. The first of the three was launched in May 2024 and returned with first samples from the Moon's South Pole. The next two projects are scheduled to launch in 2026 and 2028, respectively, with the latter being an astronaut mission.

In a 2021 roadmap, it was revealed that both China and Russia will launch parts of the Moon base between 2030 and 2035, and follow-up with more launches to expand the base.

Apart from China, the US is also looking to establish sustainable bases on the Moon through NASA's Artemis Program. The American agency has planned to launch the first batch of astronauts to the Moon and land two of them in 2027. These astronauts will be part of the Artemis 3 mission which has faced multiple delays in completion over the last few years.

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