Russia says it may build a nuclear power plant on the moon within 5 to 7 years. Mikhail Kovalchuk, head of Russia's Kurchatov Institute, which is involved in the Russian lunar power station project, said on March 19 local time that Russia could build a nuclear power plant on the moon within five to seven years. Kovalchuk introduced several possible plans for the lunar nuclear power plant at a government working meeting in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, on the same day, saying that the project could be completed in five to seven years. On the same day, Alexei Likhachev, CEO of Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation, said at a seminar that the lunar nuclear power plant would have a capacity of at least 5 kilowatts and a service life of up to 10 years. At present, the lunar nuclear power plant project is jointly developed by three institutions: Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation, the Kurchatov Institute, and Russia's State Space Corporation. Russia's State Space Corporation announced in December last year that it had signed a contract with Russia's space enterprise Lavochkin Research and Production Association to build a lunar power station by 2036. The project participants also include Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation and the Kurchatov Institute. Russia's State Space Corporation said that the Russian lunar power station project is an important step toward the goal of a permanent lunar research station and a key step in the transition from single missions to a long-term lunar exploration program.