China signs deal with Russia to build a power plant on the moon — potentially leaving the US in the dust
Story by Ben Turner · 7h

中国月球基地设想图。中国宣布与俄罗斯合作,计划于2036年前建成月球核电站。

An illustration of a hypothetical <span style='color:red'><b>Chinese</b></span> moon base. China has announced a deal with Russia to build a lunar power plant by 2036.
An illustration of a hypothetical Chinese moon base. China has announced a deal with Russia to build a lunar power plant by 2036.

中国月球基地设想图。中国宣布与俄罗斯达成协议,将在2036年前在月球上建造一座(核能)发电厂。

Russia has signed a deal with China to build a nuclear power plant on the moon.
The Russian reactor will be used to power the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), jointly led by China and Russia, and should be completed by 2036, according to a memorandum of cooperation signed by the two nations.
The announcement comes just after NASA revealed a 2026 budget proposal that would axe the agency's plans for an orbital lunar base.

中国月球基地设想图。中国宣布与俄罗斯合作,计划于2036年前建成月球核电站。
俄罗斯已与中国签署协议,将在月球建设核电站。
根据两国签署的合作备忘录,该核反应堆将为中俄共同主导的"国际月球科研站"(ILRS)供电,预计于2036年竣工。此项声明发布之际,NASA刚公布2026年预算提案,拟取消其轨道月球基地计划。

The construction of the Chinese-Russian reactor will likely be carried out autonomously "without the presence of humans," according to a 2024 interview with Yury Borisov, director general of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, on the Russian state-owned news site TASS. While details of how this can be achieved remain unclear, Borisov added that the technological steps are "almost ready."
"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," Roscosmos wrote in a May 8 announcement following the signing of the memorandum.

俄罗斯国有新闻网站塔斯社(TASS)在2024年对俄罗斯航天局(Roscosmos)局长尤里·鲍里索夫(Yury Borisov)的采访中表示,中俄反应堆的建设可能会在“无人”的情况下自主进行。虽然如何实现这一目标的细节尚不清楚,但鲍里索夫表示相关技术"已基本就绪"。
俄航天集团在5月8日签署备忘录后的公告中写道:"该站将开展基础空间研究,测试国际月球科研站(ILRS)长期无人运行技术,并为未来载人登月奠定基础。"

原创翻译:龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


The new research station, a permanent, manned lunar base located on the moon's south pole, has so far attracted 17 countries to join the program — including Egypt, Pakistan, Venezuela, Thailand and South Africa. Its groundwork will be laid by China's 2028 Chang'e-8 mission, which will be the nation's first time landing an astronaut on the lunar surface.
The roadmap for the ILRS was first unveiled in June 2021, with China and Russia announcing they would loft the pieces for a robotic moon base using five super heavy-lift rocket launches from 2030 to 2035.

这座位于月球南极的永久性载人科研基地,目前已吸引17国加入计划,包括埃及、巴基斯坦、委内瑞拉、泰国和南非。中国2028年的嫦娥八号任务将为其奠定基础,这也将是中国首次实现航天员登月。
ILRS路线图最早于2021年6月公布,中俄计划在2030至2035年间通过五次超重型火箭发射,将机器人月球基地组件送入太空。

Once these basic pieces are established, China plans additional launches that will extend the base further, connecting it to a space station orbiting the moon and two nodes located at the moon's equator and its far side, Wu Yanhua, the chief designer of China's deep exploration project, said at a 2024 media conference, according to state media outlet xinhua.
This extended model, laying the foundations for manned landings on Mars, should be completed by 2050. It "will be powered by solar, radioisotope and nuclear generators," Wu said. "It will also include lunar-Earth and high-speed lunar surface communication networks, as well as lunar vehicles like a hopper, an unmanned long-range vehicle, and pressurized and unpressurized manned rovers."

中国深空探测工程总设计师吴艳华在2024年一场媒体发布会上表示,待这些基础模块建成后,中国计划通过后续发射任务进一步扩展基地规模。据官方媒体新华社报道,扩建计划包括将月面基地与环月轨道空间站相连,并在月球赤道区域和背面增设两个枢纽节点。
这种扩展模式将为载人登陆火星铺路,预计2050年完成。吴艳华指出:"该系统将由太阳能、同位素和核能发电机供电,包含月地通信网络、高速月表通信网络,以及跳跃器、无人长距漫游车、加压与非加压载人月球车等设备。

The memorandum comes at a time of growing ambition for China's space programs. The country has had a lunar presence since the 2013 landing of the Chang'e 3 mission, which placed a rover on the moon. Subsequent missions landed more rovers on the moon and Mars, while collecting samples from the moon's near and far sides, and mapped out the lunar surface.
China's race to build a lunar outpost also has an American rival in the Artemis program, which has recently been beset by delays. Artemis III, which will see NASA astronauts return to our nearest natural satellite for the first time in over 50 years, is expected to launch sometime in 2027.

这份备忘录的签署,展现出中国航天前所未有的雄心壮志。自 2013 年嫦娥三号任务成功着陆月球并部署月球车以来,中国就一直保持着在月球上的活动。随后的一系列任务让更多的月球车登陆月球和火星,同时从月球近月面和远月面采集样本,并绘制了月表地图。
中国致力于建造月球前哨站,而美国的 “阿尔忒弥斯” 计划是其竞争对手。该计划最近一直受到各种延误的困扰。“阿尔忒弥斯三号” 任务预计将让美国国家航空航天局(NASA)的宇航员在时隔 50 多年后首次重返距离我们最近的这颗天然卫星,它预计将于 2027 年的某个时候发射。

Meanwhile, the future of NASA's own planned lunar space station, dubbed Gateway and initially slated for launch as soon as 2027, has been thrown into question with the release of the Trump administration's proposed 2026 budget. The budget calls for canceling the Gateway mission, despite significant progress on building the station's modules.

与此同时,美国国家航空航天局(NASA)自己计划建造的名为 “门户” 的月球空间站,原本最早定于 2027 年发射,随着特朗普政府公布的 2026 年预算提案的出台,其未来也受到了质疑。该预算案要求取消 “门户” 任务,尽管在建造空间站舱段方面已经取得了重大进展。