China will build a nuclear-powered Moon base

By the year 2028, China wants to complete a base on the Moon, which it will power with nuclear energy. The country wants to challenge NASA’s dominance in space exploration, and want the base to be permanently inhabited with astronauts starting to settle in the years after the base is completed.

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According to media outlet Caixin, the base’s configuration will consist of a lander, hopper, orbiter and rover, all of which would be constructed by the Chang’e 6, 7 and 8 missions. “Our astronauts will likely be able to go to the moon within 10 years,” Wu Weiran, chief designer of China’s lunar exploration programme, said in an interview with state broadcaster CCTV. He added that nuclear power will address the long term viability of the station, as it is a long-term, high-power solution.

NASA’s Artemis missions have started off well, albeit delayed, as it also plans to send humans back to the Moon by 2025. This week, the unmanned Orion spacecraft reached our lunar neighbour and will soon settle into its stable orbit around it. It will remain in orbit around the Moon for about a week, before coming back to Earth. It isn’t yet clear when the first manned Artemis missions will occur.

But, of course, China wants to get in on the future of space exploration and are catching up to the western space powers quickly. They have ramped up their efforts in recent years, investing billions in advancing their technology. They have sent their first probes to the Moon in record time, and have built their own space station around Earth. They also have ambitions of getting to Mars within a decade.

China has chosen the south pole of the Moon for the location of their base. It is thought that is could have some underground water, after some soil samples from the dark side of the Moon that China brought back to Earth in 2019 had trace elements in it.