![]() It will be equipped with three spectrometers to measure volatiles – substances such as water that can easily change from solid or liquid to gas – and a 1-meter drill to perform sub-surface excavations. VIPER will be around the size of a golf cart and will weigh 430 kg (948 lbs). ![]() “Harvesting local resources wherever they can be found, will facilitate humans ‘living off the land’ on the moon, as well as enabling air to breath, water to drink, grow and manufacture, and even hydrogen for rocket fuel.” “Ever since that discovery, missions have been planned to better understand the nature and distribution of the water ice, supporting both scientific and exploration goals, like Artemis’ goal of sustaining a human presence on the moon,” he continues. “VIPER follows on the heels of NASA’s (2009) LCROSS mission, which was the first lunar mission to actually touch the water ice in a polar region on the moon,” says Dan Andrews, the VIPER project manager at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California. Armed with a suite of scientific instruments, VIPER will collect and analyze samples and map the distribution of water ice beneath the surface – which could lay the foundation for sustained lunar exploration. ![]() Its mission is to search the lunar surface for water ice. VIPER, or Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, has now begun construction and is scheduled to land at the moon’s South Pole in 2024. ![]() Space agencies around the world are developing cutting-edge moon rovers with advanced capabilities, with NASA’s VIPER rover among the vanguard of new robotic explorers. With NASA’s Artemis mission planning to return astronauts to the moon for the first time since 1972, there’s a new buzz about lunar exploration. ![]()
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