Suggested Searches

Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment 1 (PRIME-1)

PRIME-1 will be the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon.

Active Mission

Lead Center

Kennedy Space Center

Instruments

TRIDENT and MSOLO

Space Technology Mission Directorate

Game Changing Development

Before Artemis astronauts land on the Moon, robots will scout the surface for resources and collect information about the lunar South Pole. Some landers and rovers will come equipped with handy tools, including drills and chemical analyzers, to examine what lies below the lunar surface.

Mission Type

Lunar Ice Mining Experiment

Drill Weight

80 pounds (36 kilograms)

Designed by

Honeybee Robotics

Drill length

3.2 feet (1 meter)

What is PRIME-1?

The data from PRIME-1 will help scientists understand in-situ resources on the Moon, including resource location mapping.

The goal of PRIME-1 project is to develop a flight ready system that can assess the composition of regolith for water content and other volatiles at a polar lunar landing location. The technology consists of a mass spectrometer for observing lunar operations (MSolo) and The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain (TRIDENT).

The Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) will help scientists search for water at the lunar South Pole. NASA selected Intuitive Machines of Houston to fly PRIME-1 to the Moon in 2024 under the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.

Honeybee Robotics Systems Engineer in a button-down shirt with his sleeves rolled up is seen in a lab or hangar installing the TRIDENT drill on a trolley in preparation for thermal vacuum chamber testing. — Honeybee Robotics Systems Engineer Zach Mank installs TRIDENT on a trolley for thermal vacuum chamber testing.

Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) test unit instrument. — The Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) test unit instrument is prepped for the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission. This commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer is modified to work in space and will help analyze the chemical makeup of lunar landing sites.

The PRIME-1 thermal vacuum chamber test team stand with TRIDENT and the test trolley. — Members of the PRIME-1 thermal vacuum chamber test team (from left) Janine Captain, Zach Mank, Erin Rezich, and Julie Kleinhenz with TRIDENT and the test trolley.

Featured Video

PRIME-1

PRIME-1 will help scientists search for water at the lunar South Pole, and will be the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon.

PRIME-1, which will be mounted to a lunar lander, is made up of two components – The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain (TRIDENT) and the Mass Spectrometer for Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo). NASA selected Intuitive Machines of Houston to fly PRIME-1 to the Moon in 2024 under the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.

Watch on YouTube

The Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment (PRIME-1)

NASA

NASA Awards Contract to Deliver Science, Tech to Moon Ahead of Human Missions

Masten’s XL-1 lunar lander will deliver science and technology payloads to the Moon’s South Pole in 2024.

Masten’s XL-1 lunar lander will deliver science and technology payloads to the Moon’s South Pole in 2022.

NASA Asks Commercial Partners to Land Water-Measuring Drill on Moon

The approximately 88-pound payload will be launched to the Moon to locate ice close to the lunar surface.

PRIME-1 will drill into the Moon’s surface where it lands, harvest and bring ice to the Moon’s surface, and use a mass spectrometer to measure how much is lost to sublimation as it turns from solid into vapor in a vacuum.

Latest Game Changing Technology News

See All PRIME-1 News

NASA Additive Manufacturing Project Shapes Future for Agency, Industry Rocket Makers

Next Generation NASA Technologies Tested in Flight

Swarming for Success: Starling Completes Primary Mission

What is 3D-MAT?

First Commercial Moon Delivery Assignments to Advance Artemis

NASA has finalized the first 16 science experiments and technology demonstrations, ranging from chemistry to communications, to be delivered to the surface of the Moon under the Artemis program.

AS13-60-8675 (April 1970) — This bright-rayed crater on the lunar farside was photographed from the Apollo 13 spacecraft during its pass around the moon. This area is northeast of Mare Marginus. The bright-rayed crater is located at about 105 degrees east longitude and 45 degrees north latitude. The crater Joliot-Curie is located between Mare Marginus and the rayed crater. This view is looking generally toward the northeast.

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

Missions

Space Technology Mission Directorate

Game Changing Development

Commercial Lunar Payload Services