Russia offers Elon Musk a nuclear plant for Mars mission

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Russia may propose supplying a nuclear power plant for tech billionaire Elon Musk's Mars mission, Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said on March 27.

"Russia can offer a small-sized nuclear power plant for a mission to Mars and other advanced technological capabilities," he said at the Arctic Forum in Murmansk, in comments reported by Reuters.

Dmitriev, whom the Kremlin appointed for negotiations with the U.S. on the war in Ukraine, claimed Russia's nuclear technology could be useful for space exploration. He praised Musk as a "great visionary" and suggested Russia could contribute to a potential Mars mission.

Dmitriev told Russian media on March 18 that he expects Russia to hold talks with Musk in the near future and that Russia seeks cooperation with Musk's SpaceX company in developing Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, and state-run nuclear energy company Rosatom.

The proposal comes following renewed U.S.-Russia talks initiated by President Donald Trump to improve ties strained by Russia's war in Ukraine.

Moscow and Washington continue to cooperate on space despite the severing of most economic ties after Moscow launched the war against Ukraine.

Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and a close ally of Trump, has previously said human landings on Mars could happen as early as 2029, but that 2031 was more likely.