Is this the year the U.S. finally lands a robotic rover on the moon?

"The U.S.'s elite status as the only nation to ever send humans to the moon remains a point of patriotic pride, yet it has never successfully deployed and operated a robotic rover on the moon."

"The Soviet Union took pole position in the lunar rover race in 1970 with its Lunokhod 1 mission, the first of two successful Soviet rovers."

"China's ambitious space program has sent two rovers, one of which, Yutu-2, became the first human-made rover to operate on the lunar far side where it is still working today."

"Intuitive Machines is on track to try again by sending another CLPS lander to the moon in the second half of 2026, with payloads including Lunar Vertex, a small rover meant to investigate the mysteries of a lunar swirl."

NASA's Artemis II mission marks the first crewed lunar voyage since Apollo 17 in 1972. Despite this achievement, the U.S. has not deployed a successful robotic rover on the moon. The Soviet Union led the way with Lunokhod 1 in 1970, followed by China's Yutu-2, which operates on the lunar far side. Other countries like India and Japan have also sent rovers. Intuitive Machines aims to launch another lander in 2026, carrying the Lunar Vertex rover to explore a lunar swirl.

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