Nuclear base to be built on moon? Unique space race is on between US, Russia and China

A new war has started in space to establish a nuclear base there. On one side is US and on the other side is Russia and China. Will US be able to defeat the alliance of Russia and China this time?

A unique space race is on to conquer the moon. This is not about going to the moon, but about building a nuclear base there. In this race, while Russia and China are in one side, US is on the other and the competition is to install a nuclear reactor on the moon. Both groups have set a deadline for supplying nuclear power to the moon.

In the 1960s, the world saw the race to reach the moon for the first time. On one side was US and on the other was the Soviet Union. US won this race and on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong set foot on the surface of the moon. But now, 55 years later, another space race has begun. This time the fight is about building the first nuclear reactor there. The country that first builds a nuclear reactor on the moon will not only be able to establish a human settlement there but will also have a continuous source of energy. A source that will provide both light and heat in the darkness and freezing cold of the moon and it is also possible that that country may also declare that area of the moon as a Keep Out Zone, which means warning other countries to stay away from there.

Is NASA accelerating the plan?

NASA has accelerated the plan to install a nuclear reactor on the moon. Scientists have been given clear orders that a 100 kilowatt nuclear reactor should reach the surface of the moon by 2030. The main reason for NASA’s haste is the alliance of Russia and China for the moon. In fact, in 2021, both countries had signed an agreement to build the International Lunar Research Station. According to the plan, a nuclear reactor will be installed on the moon between 2033 and 2035. In May this year, both agencies Roscosmos and CNSA also signed a formal agreement to build a lunar power station on the moon.

What was the need of this settlement?

A day on the moon is as long as 14 days on Earth and a night is also as long. That means there is light on the moon for two weeks and darkness for two weeks, that too in freezing cold, so it is impossible to live there by just depending on solar panels and batteries, so there is a mission to build a nuclear reactor there which can provide electricity 24 hours a day on the moon.

What are the Russian scientists claiming?

On the other hand, Russian scientists claim that they have an edge in both technology and experience. While China often keeps its space technology secret, it will have to share this technology with Russia to install a nuclear reactor on the moon.