![]() Artist's impression of VIPER operating in darkness. | |
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 | September 2025 (Canceled July 2024) |
Rocket | Falcon Heavy |
Launch site | Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A |
Contractor | SpaceX |
Moon rover | |
Landing date | September 2025 (canceled)[6] |
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) was a lunar rover project developed by NASA (Ames Research Center) until cancelled in 2024. The rover would have been 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 built on a previous NASA rover concept, the Resource Prospector, which had been cancelled in 2018.[8]
VIPER was to be carried aboard Astrobotic's Griffin lander as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.[9]
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