China and Russia are planning an automated nuclear power station for the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), targeted for deployment around 2033–2035.[1][3][4] The ILRS is intended for the lunar south polar region, with planning placing the base within approximately 100 kilometres of the pole.[3] China publicly incorporated the reactor concept into ILRS planning in 2025, while U.S. programmes are also pursuing lunar fission power concepts.[1][5]
A fission reactor would provide dependable power during the lunar night, which lasts more than two weeks, when solar generation is unavailable or severely constrained.[9] For a long-duration archive, continuous electricity is essential for thermal control, communications, computing, environmental systems, excavation, and manufacturing. Reactor exclusion or keep-out zones could also limit landing corridors, resource access, and the placement of independent civilisational backups; accidents, deliberate interference, or disputed safety perimeters would become existential infrastructure risks.
The Ark team should map proposed ILRS and U.S. reactor sites, track reactor designs, launch schedules, fuel and waste-management plans, international space-law decisions, and declared keep-out radii. Research should prioritise redundant sites separated by political and radiological hazard zones, passive-shutdown reactor architectures, hardened power transmission, emergency isolation, and a non-nuclear backup capable of surviving at least one lunar night. Treat 2033–2035 as the first major planning window for permanent lunar power competition.