NASA is considering sending a replica of the Perseverance rover to the Moon
NASA is exploring the possibility of using an engineering prototype of the Perseverance rover for a mission to the Moon. The rover could be used to explore the Moon’s south pole and help develop future lunar infrastructure.
This refers to a full-scale engineering prototype of the Perseverance rover, which is currently at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California.
Internally, it is known as “Promise.”
According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, the agency is seriously considering sending this rover to the Moon, specifically to operate in the vicinity of the south pole.
One of the rover’s key advantages is its power system. The rover uses a plutonium-238 radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG), which allows it to operate independently of sunlight during the Moon’s long nights and in permanently shadowed regions of the Moon.
This gives it an advantage over most lunar rovers, which rely on solar panels.
The rover weighs about one metric ton, so a heavy-lift lander—such as potentially Blue Moon (Blue Origin) or Starship (SpaceX)—will be needed to deliver it.
NASA explains that the engineering prototype was previously used to test commands before sending them to Mars, but as experience has grown, the need for it has diminished.
“When a mission is just beginning, it makes sense to test commands on Earth before sending them to Mars. But now we have many years of experience… So the question arose: what if we sent it to the Moon?” noted Jared Isaacman.
It is anticipated that the rover could help explore the Moon’s south pole, accelerate preparations for establishing a lunar base, and test technologies for a long-term human presence.
No decision on the launch has been made yet. NASA is only assessing the technical and practical feasibility of the mission, but the idea is being considered as a way to make more effective use of existing equipment for future lunar programs.
ArsTechnica reports on this.
Earlier, Axiom Space and Prada unveiled a new cooling suit for astronauts, which will be used during future lunar missions under the Artemis program.
NASA has lost contact with the MAVEN Mars probe
As a reminder, NASA is testing the new X-59 flying machine, which promises silent supersonic flight.
NASA is also threatening to remove SpaceX from the Artemis lunar mission.
