PROMISE: NASA’s Nuclear-Powered Rover for the Moon

NASA will send a nuclear-powered rover called PROMISE (Polar Rover for Observation, Mapping, and In-Situ Exploration, depicted in the rendering) to the Moon’s South Pole as a foundational mission in the Moon Base Program. The PROMISE concept was unveiled by NASA in June 2026; the agency announced on Nov. 7, 2026, it was moving ahead with the mission. The rover will study the lunar surface and subsurface, prospect for resources, and gather data to support the establishment of humanity’s first lunar outpost. It will be constructed largely from existing hardware — test-bed and flight-spare components — developed for NASA’s ongoing Mars rover missions, Curiosity and Perseverance (whose vehicle system test bed is shown at the opening of this video). NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California manages those Mars missions, and it is also managing PROMISE on behalf of the agency’s Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate. PROMISE will carry an extensive payload of science instruments and technology demonstrations. With a multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator on board as a constant source of heat and power, PROMISE will be able to operate in the dark over the long lunar nights and in the Moon’s frigid permanently shadowed regions, where water ice is likely to be found. Learn more at https://www.nasa.gov/moonbase/promise Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages JPL for NASA.