On November 8, NASA announced that it would be sending a nuclear-powered rover, named PROMISE, to the Moon in 2028. NASA is also committed to sending a manned mission to the Moon in late 2028. While the agency and the private companies now under the strict oversight of NASA are working overtime to make the schedule in hopes of beating China to the Moon, as NASA Administrator himself admitted, this will be decided not by the political calendar but by the laws of physics. The PROMISE mission is a part of that “rivalry” with China, which is presently working with Russia to develop a nuclear reactor for their joint International Lunar Research Station. China has also announced that it would have a manned lunar mission BEFORE 2030, earlier than the previously announced schedule of 2030.

“We are building the Moon Base mission by mission,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Today’s announcements expand nearly every part of that campaign, using the playbook that carried NASA through its greatest eras: fly often, learn, apply those lessons, and get more better and more capable with every mission. When our astronauts return to the Moon, they will arrive with the first elements of the Moon Base already waiting for them on the surface.” The template for the lunar mission follows the “ playbook “ of Apollo closely, and will no doubt achieve the goal either before or after China, which uses a somewhat different model.