MOSCOW, April 7. /TASS/. Roscosmos, Rosatom, and the Kurchatov Institute are developing a small reactor for deployment on the Moon’s surface, Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Bakanov stated in an interview with TASS Director General Andrey Kondrashov.

"We are implementing this project (to create small reactors for deployment on the Moon - TASS) with the Kurchatov Institute, with Mikhail Valentinovich Kovalchuk, Rosatom, and Rosatom’s entities. It’s not as if all the issues have been solved yet. We have a specific schedule for this project. But these technologies already exist; they may not be fully developed enough to be considered for launching to the Moon today, but we are nonetheless working very closely with them in this area," the head of the state corporation said during Space Week 2026.

In early April, Bakanov announced that the Russian Academy of Sciences had approved the concept for the creation of the Russian segment of the International Lunar Research Station in partnership with China. Furthermore, activities related to the lunar program will be implemented jointly by Russia, China, and 13 other countries.

In May 2025, Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) signed a memorandum on the construction of a power plant for the International Lunar Research Station. Roscosmos announced that the station would conduct fundamental space research and test technologies for long-term unmanned operation with the possibility of human presence on the Moon.

About Space Week

The first-ever Russian Space Week is taking place from April 6 to 12, 2026, and is timed to coincide with the 65th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s legendary space flight. The decree establishing this annual event was signed by the Russian president on December 29, 2025. Roscosmos is the organizer.

TASS is the information partner of Space Week 2026.