Representatives of Rosatom and Roscosmos revealed details of the creation of lunar infrastructure. Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Bakanov said that the Luna-26 and Luna-27 spacecraft are currently being developed to study the polar regions of the Moon, search for water, and test soft landing. Russia, together with China and 13 other countries, is building an international scientific lunar station, where Russia's unique contribution is the creation of a lunar nuclear power plant.
Valery Efremov, chief designer of the nuclear center in Sarov, spoke about the initiative to create small-capacity nuclear power plants based on radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RITEGs). Such a station will be able to operate autonomously for at least 10 years and will be used to prepare the infrastructure for the placement of a full-fledged nuclear reactor.
The first launch on the Angara 5M rocket will send a service lunar rover and equipment. The second will send a regular lunar rover and a charging and distribution station. The third will send the nuclear installation itself. The lunar rover will connect it with a cable to the charging station, after which the power supply will begin to consumers who will land in the area of the station.
Rosatom also announced the Luna-30 missions with contact studies of the soil and its cryogenic return to Earth, and then Luna-31 or Luna-32 will deliver a multi-beam observatory to the Moon - the first consumer of the lunar power plant.