'PROMISE' Me the Moon? NASA Wants to Send Spare Nuclear-Powered Mars Rover to the Lunar Surface
NASA is assessing whether Mars rover hardware could be modified for lunar science as it races to support a human return to the Moon.
- On Tuesday, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced four new commercial lunar lander contracts worth $600 million while revealing the agency is considering repurposing a Mars test rover named PROMISE for a lunar mission.
- The contracts fall under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, which supports the Moon Base Program to establish a permanent human outpost by the 2030s.
- NASA engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory tested PROMISE extensively in a Mars rock yard; the rover's nuclear power source enables exploration in permanently shadowed craters without relying on sunlight.
- Astrobotic received two contracts, while Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines secured one each, bringing the total of upcoming NASA missions to 17.
- To build a permanent presence, Phase 2 will establish moon base operating capability between 2029 and 2032, with Phase 3 beyond 2032 aiming for a semi-permanent crew presence on the moon.
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The U.S. space agency NASA may want to send a rover originally developed for Mars exploration to the Moon. The model designed for the Red Planet is to be adapted for the Earth's satellite. It is a "development version" of the unmanned Mars rover "Perseverance" and "Curiosity", which NASA announced at a press conference. However, the plans are not yet finalized.Manned Moon Station planned from the 2030sOn the other hand, four further unmanned mis…
'PROMISE' me the moon? NASA wants to send spare nuclear-powered Mars rover to the lunar surface
NASA provided an Artemis update today (June 30), announcing new lunar landing contracts for its Moon Base initiative and a surprise new possible rover mission that could be headed to the moon's south pole. During the second monthly update that NASA has provided for its moon base plans, the agency named Astrobotic, Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines as the providers of four robotic landers that will deliver scientific payloads to the surfac…
The spokesman-Review
Orlando SentinelNASA considers moon mission for Mars-type rover
NASA announced four new contracts for commercial lunar landers for the agency’s moon plans, but dropped news that it’s toying with the idea of sending to the moon a sister rover to the ones currently active on Mars. “It’s existed. You just didn’t know its name,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman during a Tuesday update. “It’s probably going to find its way to the lunar South Pole.” Its ...
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