Is India aiming for the Moon again?

According to a report, India is interested in joining Russia’s lunar nuclear power plant initiative.

This comes in the aftermath of India’s successful Chandrayaan-3 mission which made it the first to make a soft landing on the south pole of the lunar surface.

India is making plans to set up its first space station, Bharatiya Antariksha Station (BAS), by 2035.

The country, which signed the Artemis Accords in 2023, also wants to put a human on the Moon by 2040. But what do we know about the programme? Why is it important?

What do we know?

As per Eurasian Times, the project is being spearheaded by Russian state nuclear energy firm Rosatom.

This is part of a bigger project to build a base on the Moon in partnership with China.

The idea behind the lunar nuclear power plant is to provide power to the base. The proposed plant will be a small one capable of generating around half a megawatt of energy.

TASS quoted Rosatom chief Alexey Likhachev as saying that both Moscow and New Delhi are keen to participate in the project.

Likhachev was quoted as saying at the Eastern Economic Forum, “The new solution that we are asked to implement is the option of a lunar nuclear power plant with an energy capacity of up to half a megawatt.”

“By the way, with the involvement of the international community, our Chinese and Indian partners are very interested in this. We are trying to lay the foundation for several international space projects,” Likhachev added.

Roscosmos in May announced that it had already begun working on the nuclear power plant.

It said the power plant would be established to the Moon by 2036.

Moscow said the plant would likely be built autonomously – without humans being directly involved, as per Eurasian Times.

As per The Times of India, Russia and China had announced plans to build a joint lunar base in 2021.

This base, called the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), would go on line in phases from 2035 and 2045.

Why is it important?

According to Moneycontrol, nuclear power is critical to lunar exploration. The outlet reported that Nasa, due to the limit of solar power, has been pondering using nuclear reactors to power lunar bases.

“While solar power systems have limitations on the Moon, a nuclear reactor could be placed in permanently shadowed areas (where there may be water or ice) or generate power continuously during lunar nights,” Nasa states.The Moon’s 14-day lunar nights makes a continuous supply of solar energy impossible.

Nuclear energy thus offers a constant and steady energy source needed to establish a long-term presence on the Moon.

It quoted experts as saying that despite the difficulties involved with the project, safety remains a top concern.

It said scientists are confident that conveying nuclear fuel to the moon is safe and that there are minimal radiation risks even taking into account a failure to launch.

They noted that reactors are designed to automatically shut down in case of any problems.

The Times of India quoted experts as saying that India is playing its diplomatic cards carefully.

They noted how New Delhi sent Shubhanshu Shukla of the Gaganyaan mission to Nasa’s Houston facility.

Shukla will be heading to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Axiom-4 missio – a collaboration between ISRO and Nasa.

India in 2023 with its Chandrayaan-3 mission became just the fifth nation to achieve a successful robotic landing on the Moon.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had then urged ISRO to pursue “new and ambitious goals” including sending astronauts to Moon by 2040.

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