| Developers: | National Research Center Kurchatov Institute (Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy) |
| Date of the premiere of the system: | January 2026 |
| Branches: | Power |
2026: Work to build the station
The Kurchatov Institute National Research Center has begun work on the creation of the Selena nuclear power plant to provide energy to the future lunar base. This was announced on January 3, 2026 in an interview with TASS by the president of the Kurchatov Institute, corresponding member of RANMikhail Kovalchuk.
The lunar nuclear power plant project is based on the technologies of the Elena-AM ground-based low-power nuclear power plant, which the institute is developing for Yakutia. The key difference between Selena is the use of a reactor with a liquid metal coolant (lead-bismuth alloy).
This design does not require high pressure, which simplifies the system and increases its reliability. The lunar nuclear power plant will not have turbines or other rotating mechanisms. Power generation will be accomplished by direct heat conversion using thermoelectric or thermoemission generators.
The presentation of Selena was conducted by the scientific director of NIKIET, ex-Minister of Nuclear power Yevgeny Adamov in August 2024. According to him, the development of Selena will be phased. At the first stage, the mass of the station will be about 1.5 tons, and electric power - from 3 to 5 kW. In the future, it is planned to increase the weight of the installation to 12 tons, and the power - to 500 kW.
According to Naked Science, Selena is designed to power the International Scientific Lunar Station (MNLS), which Russia is going to create together with China in the mid-2030s. The parties signed a memorandum of understanding on the MNLS project in the spring of 2021.
At the end of May 2024, Sergei Savelyev, Deputy Director General Roskosmos for International Cooperation, announced that 12 more countries, including, Belarus,, and, had joined the MNLS project United Arab Emirates Republic of South Africa. Pakistan Turkey
Mikhail Kovalchuk stressed that Russia has unique competencies in the field of space nuclear power and does not have direct competitors in this direction.[1][2][3][4]
Notes
- ↑ Kovalchuk: Kurchatov Institute is working on the creation of a compact lunar
- ↑ [https://naked-science.ru/community/985803 nuclear power plant Details of the Selena nuclear
- ↑ power plant
- ↑ , which Russia wants to build on the moon, have become known]
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