Putin envoy says Russia could supply a small nuclear power plant for Musk's Mars mission

By Andrew Osborn

(Reuters) - Russia could supply a small nuclear power plant for a mission to Mars planned by billionaire entrepreneur and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, President Vladimir Putin's international cooperation envoy said on Thursday.

The envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, said Moscow could discuss the offer with Musk by video conference. It was the second time Dmitriev has spoken of potential cooperation with Musk this month.

The proposal comes after U.S. President Donald Trump launched talks with Russia aimed at reviving bilateral ties which were languishing at their lowest level in decades due to Russia's war in Ukraine. Moscow is seeking to develop economic cooperation with Washington, even as U.S. sanctions against Russia over the conflict remain in place.

Musk, a close Trump associate, said earlier this month that his Starship rocket would blast off for Mars by the end of next year despite various failures in tests and amid scepticism from some space experts about Musk's projected timeline.

In a post on X, Musk said human landings could take place as early as 2029, but that "2031 was more likely." He spoke last year of plans to build a "self-sustaining city in about 20 years" on Mars, something that would need a power source.

Speaking in Murmansk on the sidelines of an Arctic Forum, Dmitriev, who is also head of a fund that works to attract foreign investors, said Russia could contribute a lot to a potential Mars mission.

"Russia can offer a small-sized nuclear power plant for a mission to Mars and other advanced technological capabilities," the state RIA news agency cited him as saying.

"We believe that Russia has a lot to offer for a mission to Mars, because we have some nuclear technologies that I think could be applicable," he added, saying Russia regarded cooperation with Musk, whom Dmitriev hailed as a "great visionary", as important.

Yuri Borisov, the then head of Russia's Roscosmos space agency, said last year that Russia and China were considering putting a nuclear power plant on the moon from 2033-35, something he said could one day allow lunar settlements to be built.

Russia said in 2022 it would start work on its own Mars mission after the European Space Agency (ESA) suspended a joint project after the start of the war.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)