NASA is seriously considering the possibility of sending Promise — an engineering model of the famous Perseverance Mars rover, currently stored at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) — to the Moon. The idea is to use this fully functional vehicle to accelerate research in the south polar region, which is critically important for a future base.
Promise’s main advantage is its power system. The rover is equipped with a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG). This gives it a significant edge over other lunar rovers, which mostly rely on solar power and become helpless during the long lunar night. With a nuclear power source, the rover would be able to operate around the clock, regardless of lighting conditions, making it an ideal tool for studying the Moon’s challenging terrain.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and lunar base program chief Carlos García-Galán consider this move logical. For years, Promise served as a “testbed” for rehearsing complex commands before they were sent to the real Perseverance rover on Mars. Today, however, with many years of successful experience operating active rovers, the agency is ready to repurpose equipment in which enormous investments have already been made.
Of course, to adapt Promise to lunar conditions, engineers would have to modify its scientific instruments, but this would be much faster and more efficient than designing and building a new vehicle from scratch. The delivery of such a machine, weighing about one ton, is planned to be carried out using heavy landers such as Blue Origin’s Blue Moon or SpaceX’s Starship.
This initiative is part of a broader U.S. strategy aimed at outpacing China in lunar exploration. NASA’s priorities have temporarily shifted: for now, building lunar infrastructure is considered more important than further missions to Mars. As Casey Dreier of The Planetary Society notes, the decision is highly symbolic — using the technological achievements of the Mars program to secure a presence on Earth’s nearest natural satellite. The decision to send Promise has not yet been finalized, but it clearly demonstrates NASA’s desire to act quickly and make the most efficient use of existing resources.
Earlier, we reported on how Perseverance completed its first marathon on Mars.
According to arstechnica.com
