NASA has announced about $10 billion in contracts tied to building a base on the moon, a step that would expand the agency's presence on the lunar surface under its Artemis program. The package also includes new lunar missions and a proposed nuclear-powered rover known as PROMISE.
The details come from a Space.com report on the announcement. The outlet's coverage places the news within Artemis, the agency's effort to return astronauts to the moon and build the infrastructure needed for longer stays there. Sustained operations on the surface depend on reliable power, mobility and logistics, which is why the contracts and the rover concept are being discussed together.
The available information on the announcement is limited. Specific contractors, the exact allocation of the funding, launch timelines for the new missions and the technical design of the PROMISE rover were not available in the material used for this story, so those points are not confirmed here. Further reporting from NASA would be needed to clarify how the money will be distributed and when the missions and the rover might proceed.
Any moon base would rely on steady energy supplies through the long lunar nights, and nuclear power has been studied for that purpose. How PROMISE would fit into that effort remains to be seen, and readers should watch for official NASA documentation to fill in the gaps.
Credit. Based on reporting by Josh Dinner for Space.com. Is this your work? Write to us.
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