In May 2025, China’s CNSA and Russia’s Roscosmos signed a memorandum to build a power station for the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS); the station is scheduled for completion in 2036 and is described as a major contribution to the program, with Roscosmos saying it will support fundamental space research and long-term uncrewed operations, with a prospect of human presence on the Moon.
The technical signal is clear: the China-Russia ILRS plan is moving beyond concepts into power infrastructure, with a lunar station designed to supply continuous energy for rovers, observatories, and future habitats, including during the Moon’s 14-day night; this is the central enabler for survivable lunar habitation, industrial activity, and preservation systems that cannot tolerate intermittent power.
Ark should track the ILRS power system design, reactor or grid architecture, launch cadence, and partner participation; it should also study what energy storage, thermal control, and autonomous maintenance assumptions are being embedded now, because those choices will shape the first credible model for resilient off-Earth civilizational infrastructure.