Luna Research Dome 5 — propulsion and power research campus at Von Kármán crater, within the South Pole–Aitken basin on the lunar far side. Completed and operational 2129. Built as a formal split from Dome 1’s engineering campus to accommodate dedicated reactor test stands, vacuum-chamber thrust testing, and containment-failure safety margins. Von Kármán selected for far-side radio quiet and sufficient distance from Dome 1 to isolate reactor test failures.
Primary program: Direct Fusion Drive — a field-reversed configuration (FRC) reactor concept, aneutronic D-He3, generating thrust and onboard electrical power from the same core. Jointly staffed by Soviet and Chinese propulsion researchers, the first formally joint Soviet-Chinese propulsion effort since the Kaluga Protocol (2068). Charter includes a broader mandate to evaluate other propulsion concepts toward a “breakthrough that could revolutionize space travel.”