MoonRise

MoonRise is a robotic mission concept to the south pole of the Moon.

It was proposed in 2017 for NASA's New Frontiers program mission 4, but it was not selected.

If funded and launched by another NASA opportunity, it would focus on the giant South Pole–Aitken basin (SPA basin) on the far side of the Moon between the Moon's South Pole and Aitken Crater, 16° south of the Moon's equator.

The basin is also among the largest recognized impact structures in the Solar System.

[5] Although MoonRise was passed over in favor of OSIRIS-REx in the 2011 selection, a South Pole–Aitken basin sample return mission remains part of the 2013–2022 Planetary Science Decadal Survey's recommendation for potential New Frontiers missions,[6] and NASA's Planetary Science Division has expressed support for the Decadal Survey's recommendations.