Russia plans to put a nuclear power plant on the ‍moon in the next decade to supply its lunar space program and a joint Russian-Chinese research station as major powers rush to explore the earth’s only natural satellite.

Axar.az informs, citing Reuters, Russia’s state space corporation, Roscosmos, ‍said in a statement that it planned to build a lunar power plant by 2036 and signed a ‍contract with the ‍Lavochkin Association aerospace company to ⁠do it.

Roscosmos said the purpose of ‌the plant was to power Russia’s ⁠lunar program, including rovers, ‍an observatory and the infrastructure of the joint Russian-Chinese International Lunar Research Station.

“The project is an ⁠important step towards the creation of a permanently functioning scientific lunar station and the transition from one-time missions ‌to a long-term lunar exploration program,” Roscosmos said.

Roscosmos did not say explicitly that the plant would be nuclear but it said the participants included Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and the Kurchatov Institute, Russia’s leading nuclear research institute.