NASA Gears Up for a Permanent Moon Base with Nuclear Rovers and Cosmic Cargo

NASA is moving way past short weekend trips to the Moon. Through a fresh round of awards and industry partnerships, the space agency is putting serious funding into building permanent lunar infrastructure—the cosmic equivalent of cargo freighters, power stations, and rugged supply lines.

One standout project in the lineup is PROMISE, a nuclear-powered rover built to explore tough lunar terrain. Most space robots count on solar panels, but a single night on the Moon lasts about 14 Earth days. Without sunlight, temperatures plunge below minus 200 degrees Fahrenheit, which can freeze standard batteries solid. PROMISE uses a compact nuclear heat and power system to keep moving and running experiments right through the lunar dark.