Russia planning to build nuclear powerplant.. on Mars!?

This is not really hardware news, but I thought it was interesting and strange enough to post it. According to the BBC some Russian scientists have announced to have plans to build a nuclear power station.. on Mars! They say that it should be up and running by 2030.

The first extra-terrestrial nuclear power station will serve the permanent research camp which, Russian scientists believe, could be set up on Mars within the next 30 years.

Deputy chief engineer of Red Star - a state scientific company closely affiliated with Russia's Nuclear Energy Ministry - says the station will be constructed in the mountainous areas of Mars, possibly in one of the canyons

Sounds to good to be true if you ask me, they will be facing a lot of trouble, and were will they ever get the money to build it? I mean building nuclear power plants is not cheap, and building one on Mars will cost a LOT of money.

According to the BBC it will produce enough power for future missions to Mars. I'm just wondering what kind of mission that they are planning, a lot of things will be possible I think if they can really get a nuclear power plant up and running there. Also the plant will not need more than six engineers to maintain.

The Red Planet is extremely inhospitable Scientists say that the station is now almost ready to be built - all they have to do is to find a way to protect staff and environment from radiation. The only stumbling block is how to deliver ready-made building blocks to a construction site 300 million kilometres (186.4 million miles) away from Earth. The plan is that the heavier equipment will be delivered to Mars by an automatic lander - like the European Beagle which is now making its way to the Red Planet. The scientists say that more delicate goods will arrive in a manned spaceship. Its crew will build both the station and the research base for all future expeditions.

Source : BBC