Perhaps the most interesting part of this design is its dual-mode power system, which consists of the standard solar cell array as well as a nuclear power source, allowing the rover to operate continuously and in areas that go long periods without sunlight.

ENGADGET: Chinese engineers reveal nuclear-powered lunar rover

Meanwhile an industry using deadly materials spread across more than 40 countries may be about to expand farther and wider, as from Venezuela to Vietnam governments contemplate nuclear power as a source of cleaner energy.

ECONOMIST: Preventing nuclear trafficking is easier than policing it

The global future of nuclear as a power source was also called into question after the disaster which occurred in March 2011 when a Japanese earthquake and tsunami rocked the reactors at Fukushima, leaving radioactivity leaking from the plant.

BBC: Nuclear power: UK will get help to compete, say ministers