VIPER rover to search for ice and other resources at the Moon's South Pole
Kyiv • UNN
NASA's VIPER rover will search for volatile resources, such as ice, on the Moon's surface, collecting data for future exploration. Blue Origin will deliver VIPER to the Moon in late 2027 using its Blue Moon MK1 lander.
NASA's VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) lunar rover will search for volatile resources, such as ice, on the Moon's surface and collect scientific data to support future lunar and Martian exploration. This was reported by Satnews, writes UNN.
Details
The CLPS order has a total potential value of $190 million. This is the second CLPS delivery to the Moon contracted with Blue Origin. Their first delivery – using the Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) robotic lander – is scheduled to launch later this year to deliver NASA's stereo cameras for lunar plume surface investigations and laser retroreflector array payloads to the Moon's South Pole region.
With this new contract, Blue Origin will deliver VIPER to the lunar surface in late 2027 using a second Blue Moon MK1 lander, which is currently in production. NASA had previously canceled the VIPER project and has since explored alternative approaches to achieve the agency's goals of mapping potential extraterrestrial resources, such as water.
The task, designated CS-7, involves designing facilities for a specific payload and demonstrating how Blue Origin's flight design will enable the rover to be unloaded onto the lunar surface. The contract includes an option to deliver and safely deploy the rover on the lunar surface. NASA will decide whether to exercise this option after the baseline task and the first flight of Blue Origin's Blue Moon MK1 lander are completed and verified. This unique approach will reduce the agency's costs and technical risks. The rover has a target science window for its 100-day mission, which requires a landing before the end of 2027.
The search for lunar volatiles plays a key role in NASA's lunar exploration, with important implications for both science and the Artemis-led human mission. This delivery can show us where ice is most likely to be found and where it is most easily accessible as a future resource for humanity. And by studying these sources of lunar water, we also gain valuable insights into the distribution and origin of volatiles throughout the solar system, helping us better understand the processes that shaped our cosmic environment and how our inner solar system evolved.
Blue Origin is responsible for the complete architecture of the landing mission and is conducting the design, analysis, and testing of a large lunar lander capable of safely delivering a volatile-based science rover to the Moon. Blue Origin will also handle comprehensive integration, planning, and payload support, as well as post-landing payload deployment activities. NASA will conduct rover operations and science planning.
NASA is a global leader in exploring more of the Moon than ever before, and this delivery is just one of many ways we are leveraging American industry to support a long-term American presence on the lunar surface. Our rover will explore the extreme environment of the lunar south pole, traveling to small, permanently shadowed regions to help identify future landing sites for our astronauts and better understand the lunar environment — critical data to support humanity on longer missions as America leads our future in space.
Addition
NASA's Perseverance rover discovered rocks in the dry riverbed of the Red Planet that may contain potential signs of ancient microscopic life.