China has cemented its place in the elite group of nations mastering high-precision lunar navigation. In April 2025, a research team led by the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) achieved a historic milestone by successfully conducting the world’s first daylight satellite laser ranging (SLR) in Earth-Moon space. By targeting the Tiandu-1 satellite—a 61kg technology demonstrator orbiting approximately 130,000 kilometers away—scientists captured a clear return signal des

The dream of a nuclear-powered Moon has officially entered its industrial phase. Roscosmos recently signed a milestone contract with the Lavochkin Association to begin the design and ground-testing of a lunar nuclear power plant (NPP). This project, a joint venture with China and supported by the nuclear expertise of Rosatom, aims to solve the "Lunar Night" problem—a 14-day period of total darkness where solar panels become useless. The reactor is being designed to operate entirely autonomously,