NASA-branded nuclear-powered rover PROMISE is heading to the Moon’s south pole to search for water ice and prepare terrain for a future permanently staffed base, with the agency entrusting Blue Origin with the ambitious mission scheduled for late 2028.
The US space agency is preparing for a major leap in the exploration of our natural satellite by launching the six-wheeled, nuclear-powered PROMISE vehicle. The new technological solution features a miniature nuclear power plant that will allow it to operate fully even during the two-week-long dark lunar nights and in the permanently shadowed craters around the south pole, where valuable water ice is believed to exist.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman emphasizes that the agency is following a proven historical approach of frequent flights and accumulating experience to ensure that the first elements of the future lunar base will be waiting for astronauts when they land on the surface. The project for a polar rover for observation, mapping and local research uses proven engineering components and software from the previous Curiosity and Perseverance rovers, significantly reducing development costs and time.
The PROMISE design includes a specialized probe for drilling through the regolith to a depth of one meter, advanced spectrometers for chemical analysis, temperature and radiation sensors, as well as a radiation-hardened, high-performance computer system. To deliver the vehicle to the lunar surface, NASA has already signed a $94 million contract, with an option to extend it by another $140 million, with Blue Origin, which will use its Mark 1 lander.
However, the agency’s efforts extend far beyond a single mission, as eight leading companies, including SpaceX, Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines and Lockheed Martin, are taking part in the expanded CLPS 2 Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. The framework agreement has a ten-year horizon and a ceiling of $10 billion, while the limit of the initial contract was raised to $4.2 billion to support the early stages of base construction.
Six specialized missions worth approximately $1.3 billion are planned to transport cargo to lunar orbit and the surface, using launch vehicles such as New Glenn, Terran R and Falcon 9. At the same time, SpaceX will deploy new communications satellites into cislunar space using the Starship spacecraft, while NASA is purchasing communications towers, solar panels, batteries and innovative wireless power-transfer systems for the construction of the infrastructure itself.