Russia, China sign agreement to build Nuclear power station on moon

"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.NDTV reported.

First announced in 2017, ILRS includes involvement from countries such as Venezuela, Belarus, Azerbaijan, South Africa, Egypt, Nicaragua, Thailand, Serbia, Pakistan, Senegal and Kazakhstan.

The IRLS is expected to be located within 100 kilometres of the lunar south pole and feature long-term autonomous operations and short-term human missions.

"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 said in a statement.

Yuri Borisov, the head of Roscosmos, last year stated that apart from the Chinese-Russian reactor, a nuclear-powered cargo spaceship was also under development. He said all the technical questions concerning the project had been solved, apart from finding a solution on how to cool the nuclear reactor.