Names | Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover |
---|---|
Mission type | Exploration, resource prospecting |
Operator | NASA |
Website | https://www.nasa.gov/viper |
Mission duration | 100 days (planned) [1] [2] [3] |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft type | Robotic lunar rover |
Manufacturer | NASA Ames Research Center |
Dry mass | 430 kg (950 lb) [4] |
Dimensions | 2.45 m (8 ft 0 in) in height, 1.53 m (5 ft 0 in) in length and width [5] |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | November 2024 (planned) [6] |
Rocket | Falcon Heavy |
Launch site | Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A |
Contractor | SpaceX |
Moon rover | |
Landing date | November 2024 |
Landing site | Mons Mouton, South pole region [7] [2] |
Instruments | |
Neutron Spectrometer System (NSS) Near InfraRed Volatiles Spectrometer System (NIRVSS) The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain (TRIDENT) Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) | |
VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) is a lunar rover developed by NASA (Ames Research Center), and currently planned to be delivered to the surface of the Moon in November 2024. [6] The rover will be tasked with prospecting for lunar resources in permanently shadowed areas in the lunar south pole region, especially by mapping the distribution and concentration of water ice. The mission builds on a previous NASA rover concept called Resource Prospector, which was cancelled in 2018. [8]
On 11 June 2020, NASA awarded Astrobotic Technology of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US$199.5 million to launch VIPER to the lunar south pole. VIPER will be carried aboard Astrobotic's Griffin lander as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. Astrobotic is responsible for end-to-end services for delivery of VIPER, including integration with its Griffin lander, launch from Earth, and landing on the Moon. [9]
The VIPER rover has a size similar to a golf cart (around 1.4 × 1.4 × 2 m), and will be tasked with prospecting for lunar resources, especially for water ice, mapping its distribution, and measuring its depth and purity. [1] [2] The water distribution and form must be better understood before it can be evaluated as a potential resource within any evolvable lunar or Mars campaign. [10]
The VIPER rover is part of the Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program managed by the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, and it is meant to support the crewed Artemis program. [2] NASA's Ames Research Center is managing the rover project. The hardware for the rover is being designed by the Johnson Space Center, while the instruments are provided by Ames, Kennedy, and Honeybee Robotics. [2] The project manager is Daniel Andrews, [2] [11] and the project scientist is Anthony Colaprete, who is implementing the technology developed for the now cancelled Resource Prospector rover. [12] The estimated cost of the mission is US$250 million in October 2019. [3] NASA said on 3 March 2021 that the new lifecycle cost for the mission is US$433.5 million. [13]
The VIPER rover will operate on the western edge of Nobile crater on Mons Mouton in the Moon's south pole region. [7] [14] It is planned to rove several kilometers, collecting data on different kinds of soil environments affected by light and temperature—those in complete darkness, occasional light and in constant sunlight. [15] [2] Once it enters a permanently shadowed location, it will operate on battery power alone and will not be able to recharge them until it drives to a sunlit area. Its total operation time will be 100 Earth days. [1] [2] [3]
Both the launcher and the lander were competitively provided through Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contractors, with Astrobotic providing the Griffin lander to deliver the rover, and SpaceX providing the Falcon Heavy launch vehicle. [16] NASA is aiming to land the rover in November 2024. [6]
In February 2024 the final instrument, the TRIDENT drill, was installed into the rover. [17] Later on 28 February 2024, VIPER Project Manager Dan Andrews announced that all the rover's scientific instruments were installed, and that it was more than 80% built. [18] Further progress was reported in April 2024, remaining on track for launch later in the year. [19]
Data obtained by Lunar Prospector, [20] Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Chandrayaan-1, and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, revealed that lunar water is present in the form of ice near the lunar poles, especially within permanently shadowed craters in the south pole region, [21] [22] and present in the form of hydrated minerals in other high-latitude locations. [23]
Water may have been delivered to the Moon over geological timescales by the regular bombardment of water-bearing comets, asteroids and meteoroids, [24] or continuously produced in situ by the hydrogen ions (protons) of the solar wind impacting oxygen-bearing minerals. [20] The physical form of the water ice is unknown, but some studies suggest that it is unlikely to be present in the form of thick, pure ice deposits, and may be a thin coating on soil grains. [25] [26] [22]
If it is possible to mine and extract the water molecules (H
2O) in large amounts, it can be broken down to its elements, namely hydrogen and oxygen, and form molecular hydrogen (H
2) and molecular oxygen (O
2) to be used as rocket bi-propellant or produce compounds for metallurgic and chemical production processes. [27] Just the production of propellant, was estimated by a joint panel of industry, government and academic experts, identified a near-term annual demand of 450 metric tons of lunar-derived propellant equating to 2450 metric tons of processed lunar water, generating US$2.4 billion of revenue annually. [28]
The VIPER rover will be equipped with a drill and three analyzers. The Neutron Spectrometer System (NSS), will detect sub-surface water from a distance, then, VIPER will stop at that location and deploy a 1 m (3 ft 3 in) drill called TRIDENT to obtain samples to be analyzed by its two onboard spectrometers: [2] [3] [29]
Instrument name | Abbr. | Provider | Function [30] |
---|---|---|---|
Neutron Spectrometer System | NSS | Ames Research Center (NASA) | Detect sub-surface hydrogen (potentially water) from a distance, suggesting prime sites for drilling. It measures the energy released by hydrogen atoms when struck by neutrons. Originally developed for the Resource Prospector rover. [10] |
The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain | TRIDENT | 1-m drill will obtain subsurface samples. | |
Near InfraRed Volatiles Spectrometer System | NIRVSS | Ames Research Center (NASA) | Analyze mineral and volatile composition; determine if the hydrogen it encounters belong to water molecules (H2O) or to hydroxyl (OH−). Originally developed for the Resource Prospector rover. [10] Sub-systems: Spectrometer Context Imager (a broad-spectrum camera); Longwave Calibration Sensor (measures surface temperature at very small scales). |
Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations | MSolo | Kennedy Space Center (NASA) | Analyze mineral and volatile composition. Measures the mass-to-charge ratio of ions to elucidate the chemical elements contained in the sample. |
Lunar water is water that is present on the Moon. Diffuse water molecules in low concentrations can persist at the Moon's sunlit surface, as discovered by the SOFIA observatory in 2020. Gradually, water vapor is decomposed by sunlight, leaving hydrogen and oxygen lost to outer space. Scientists have found water ice in the cold, permanently shadowed craters at the Moon's poles. Water molecules are also present in the extremely thin lunar atmosphere.
Nobile is a lunar impact crater that is located near the southern pole of the Moon. It was named after the Italian aviator and explorer Umberto Nobile by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1994. It lies to the south of the crater Scott, along the western rim of Amundsen. Between Nobile and the southern pole lie the smaller craters Shoemaker and Faustini.
In space exploration, in situ resource utilization (ISRU) is the practice of collection, processing, storing and use of materials found or manufactured on other astronomical objects that replace materials that would otherwise be brought from Earth.
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A lunar rover or Moon rover is a space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of the Moon. The Apollo program's Lunar Roving Vehicle was driven on the Moon by members of three American crews, Apollo 15, 16, and 17. Other rovers have been partially or fully autonomous robots, such as the Soviet Union's Lunokhods, Chinese Yutus, Indian Pragyan, and Japan's LEVs. Five countries have had operating rovers on the Moon: the Soviet Union, the United States, China, India, and Japan.
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VIPER is a limited-time mission; operating at the poles means there's no sunlight to harvest with solar panels, so the rover will carry all the power it needs to last 100 days there.