NASA Keeps Promise to Raid Mars Testbeds for Parts in Lunar Rover Plan

A rover aimed at the Moon

NASA outlined plans for PROMISE during a weekend briefing. The robot is intended to reach the lunar surface by late 2028 and operate for 18 months. NASA expects PROMISE to follow VIPER, its lunar rover designed for a mission of about 100 days. PROMISE will carry copies of VIPER’s science instruments, including a drill able to bore one meter into lunar soil.

Reused hardware and power

PROMISE is based on an engineering model developed for Mars. NASA said during the briefing that it was “pretty comfortable” with the progress of its Mars rovers and supported repurposing the hardware.

The rover will use a Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator left over from the Cassini mission, which launched toward Saturn in 1997. NASA acknowledged that the fuel was processed some time ago but expects it to provide sufficient heat and power.

Costs and delivery contract

NASA put the expected cost below $400 million. Blue Origin received a $94 million base contract to deliver PROMISE to the lunar South Pole, with an additional $140 million option tied to performance. Casey Drier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, estimated earlier this year that the mission could cost at least $723 million, including hardware repurposing and the lunar landing. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said, “if PROMISE costs even 20 percent of your low-end estimate, we simply will not fly it.”