NASA's Backup Mars Rover May Get Its Chance To Shine (On The Moon)

Nobody likes to be the reserve driver. You don't want to sit back and be "support" while some other guy goes and gets all the glory; you want to show the world what you can do! And if you happen to be a six-wheeled robot built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, you actually want to show another world what you can do. Well, there is a glimmer of light for the backup for the latest-gen Mars rovers. Moonlight, to be precise, because the Moon just might be where the test model is headed next. And while that may not be a guarantee, it is a PROMISE.

The latest and greatest rovers on Mars are the twins Curiosity and Perseverance. Well actually, they're triplets, since JPL also built a third one to stay right here on Earth. This gives the engineers a way to diagnose problems that the Mars pair encounter, whether through tough terrain or component breakdowns. Before JPL tells a Mars rover to do something it's never done before, they try it on their poor Earth sibling first. Basically, the little (SUV-sized) guy takes all the punishment of testing without any of the glory of discovery.

But now, NASA is seeing big potential for the test model, and it may soon get its chance to shine. During a news conference on Tuesday, NASA announced that the agency is "thinking very hard right now" about sending the unsung hero to the Moon, specifically its south pole. After all, with a Moon Base getting built very soon, we need robotic explorers figuring out as much as they can about humanity's next home. Curiosity and Perseverance have all the qualities NASA would need, such as a high payload capacity for lots of measurement equipment and a plutonium-powered MMRTG generator to work in the long polar nights. But those two are on Mars and aren't leaving anytime soon. You know who is ready to go?

Now that it might become a real rover, it's going to get a real name: the Polar Rover for Observation, Mapping, and In-Situ Exploration (PROMISE). NASA says its missions will be "scouting the lunar south pole, characterizing the surface and subsurface, [and] prospecting for resources." The last one is telling; obviously the Moon Base will need to harvest whatever water or fuel it can from the Moon itself, but it also points towards the coming commercialization of our lunar neighbor.

While this all might sound promising (thank you, thank you), it comes at a pretty high cost to Curiosity and Perseverance. If JPL loses its test model to the Moon mission, then it also loses any way to safely try new ideas for or diagnose problems with the Martian pair. Effectively, NASA would be declaring that the Moon is such a high priority that it's willing to take on high risks on Mars, as Ars Technica points out. In other words, it's not like the space agency just found a free new rover; it's pulling one from one duty to another. Question is whether the benefit is worth the cost.

NASA itself hasn't answered that question, as it hasn't made any official decisions. But even announcing the possibility is a clear sign of where it wants to push. That itself is a reflection of where the political winds are blowing, as America races China to the Moon. Mars, the focus of the space community's dreams for so long, may be taking a backseat to our nearest neighbor for the time being.