NASA plans nuclear-powered PROMISE rover for Moon’s south pole

NASA plans to build a nuclear-powered rover for the Moon’s south pole and has assigned Blue Origin its delivery, according to the agency’s November 7 mission update. Named PROMISE, the six-wheeled vehicle is intended to survey terrain and resources for NASA’s planned Moon Base.

NASA records a $94 million base delivery contract for Blue Origin and a separate $140 million performance-based option. The award expands a May 2026 task order for delivery of two lunar terrain vehicles. Blue Origin is to use its Mark 1 lander to deliver and deploy PROMISE on the surface.

The agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California will build the rover using spare flight components and engineering test hardware developed for the Curiosity and Perseverance Mars missions. NASA’s mission page specifies that the electronics, body and mobility system will come from Curiosity’s duplicate vehicle used for testing on Earth.

NASA plans to power the rover with a flight-spare multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator. The nuclear generator is intended to let PROMISE operate through lunar nights and inside permanently shadowed terrain, where scientists think ice and other resources may be preserved, the mission page explains.

The planned payload includes a drill to sample lunar soil from about one metre below the surface, instruments to measure its chemical composition, temperature and radiation sensors, and visible-light cameras. NASA also plans to test radiation-tolerant computing and autonomous navigation technology during the mission.

NASA targets a late-2028 launch and an 18-month primary mission. JPL will manage PROMISE for the agency’s Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate. The mission remains in development; its planned delivery, surface operations and resource measurements have yet to occur.