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Mission Announced / Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA advances PROMISE nuclear-powered lunar rover under JPL management

NASA announced it is moving forward with PROMISE, a nuclear-powered rover designed to investigate resources and surface conditions near the lunar South Pole. JPL will manage the mission and build the rover using spare flight components and engineering models from Curiosity and Perseverance. NASA is targeting a late-2028 launch and an 18-month surface mission.

Why it matters

Reusing Mars rover hardware could reduce development time and cost while bringing a nuclear-powered mobility capability to permanently shadowed lunar terrain. The mission is a technology and resource-characterization step for sustained south-pole operations.

The numbers

Planned launch year
2,028 yr

NASA is targeting late 2028 to launch PROMISE.

Source
Planned mission duration
18 months

NASA is planning an 18-month mission for the rover.

Source
Drill depth
1 m

The rover will extract regolith from approximately 1 meter below the surface.

Source

Coverage

1 report

  1. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory ·

    NASA Awards Moon Base Transportation, Technology, Science Projects

    NASA moved forward with development of PROMISE, a nuclear-powered rover managed by JPL for lunar south-pole exploration. JPL will assemble the rover using spare flight components and engineering test models from Curiosity and Perseverance. NASA is targeting a late-2028 launch and an 18-month mission.

    83

AI-assisted summary of 1 report; numbers link to their source. Spot an error? Tell us.

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