Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping of China are planning to put a nuclear power unit on the Moon, according to Russia’s space agency Roscosmos.
“Today we are seriously considering a project — somewhere at the turn of 2033-2035 — to deliver and install a power unit on the lunar surface together with our Chinese colleagues,” said Yuri Borisov, head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, on Tuesday.
Borisov also confirmed that Russia is working on building a nuclear-powered “space tugboat.”
“We are indeed working on a space tugboat. This huge, cyclopean structure that would be able, thanks to a nuclear reactor and high-power turbines…to transport large cargoes from one orbit to another, collect space debris and engage in many other applications,” Borisov said.
Borisov’s announcement follows weeks of discussions between the two nations about “outer space security” and “AI weapons,” reported Russian news agency RIA. The countries have also agreed to collaborate closely on the UN-backed Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) policy, a component of the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) initiative.
Both nations confirmed a shared approach to using AI technology in outer space during the dialogues, employing “doctrinal guidelines and initiatives,” according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. The talks extended to issues related to “outer space security, biosecurity, and artificial intelligence,” Chinese officials confirmed. Plans for further cooperation were identified and noted, both bilaterally and on various international platforms, particularly within the GGE’s framework on LAWS.
Gen. Stephen Whiting, head of US Space Command, recently expressed concerns over Russia’s and China’s rapidly developing military capabilities in space. “The PRC’s and Russia’s actions have transformed space into a contested warfighting domain,” Whiting told lawmakers last week.
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