China is developing new nuclear system to power moon base expected to be up and running by 2028
- Lunar programme chief designer says China is working on system to address ‘long-term, high-power energy demands’ of moon station
- Station’s basic configuration will include lander, hopper, orbiter and a ride-on rover that will be charged with nuclear energy
China’s station at the moon’s south pole will be powered by nuclear energy, the chief of the lunar project said.
“We are now developing a new system that uses nuclear energy to address the moon station’s long-term, high-power energy demands,” Wu Weiren, chief designer of the Chinese lunar exploration programme, told state broadcaster CCTV on Monday.
01:25
China grows rice, other plants in space as part of Tiangong station experiment
Nuclear energy is a continuous and reliable source of power regardless of location or available sunlight. It will provide the energy needed for instruments to operate and for astronauts to generate oxygen and extract water, among others.
China’s moon station is expected to be complete by 2028. Its basic configuration will comprise a lander, a hopper and an orbiter as well as a rover that will be charged with nuclear energy.
Wu said the rover could be ridden by the astronauts and would be much bigger than the two China operated on the moon, including the solar-powered Yutu-2 still rolling on the far side after nearly four years.
He said nuclear energy could also power the hopper, a device designed to “take off from the lunar surface many times” and hop in and out of a crater’s permanently shadowed area to look for water.
