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NASA may reroute Perseverance’s Earthbound twin to the lunar south pole
NASA is considering repurposing a ground-based engineering test model of its Perseverance rover, potentially as a hybrid with the Curiosity rover, for a lunar south pole mission named PROMISE. This rover would utilize a plutonium-powered radioisotope thermoelectric generator for continuous operation, independent of sunlight, to survey the lunar south pole for water ice and characterize the environment. The project, estimated to cost between $700 million and $1.3 billion, is not expected to launch before the early 2030s.