NASA Questions $1.33 Billion PROMISE Moon Rover as Recycled Mars Hardware Fails to Cut Costs
Updated
Updated · TechRadar · Aug 6
NASA Questions $1.33 Billion PROMISE Moon Rover as Recycled Mars Hardware Fails to Cut Costs
2 articles · Updated · TechRadar · Aug 6
Summary
$723 million to $1.33 billion in estimated costs has pushed NASA to question whether the proposed PROMISE lunar rover is affordable, despite plans to build it from existing Curiosity and Perseverance test hardware.
Engineering models from the Mars programs still need costly flight certification, communications changes and integration of a plutonium radioisotope power system before they could operate on the Moon.
$234 million to $320 million of the estimate comes from launch and landing alone, though NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said those expenses would apply to any lunar mission and defended reusing taxpayer-funded hardware.
Isaacman also drew a hard line on affordability, saying NASA would not fly PROMISE if it cost even 20% of the low-end estimate, underscoring how uncertain the rover's future remains without an official NASA cost breakdown.