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VIPER(rover)

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VIPER
Artist's impression ofVIPERoperating in darkness.
NamesVolatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover
Mission typeExploration, resource prospecting
OperatorNASA
Websitehttps:// nasa.gov/viper
Mission duration100 days (planned)[1][2][3]
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeRoboticlunar rover
ManufacturerNASA Ames Research Center
Dry mass430 kg (950 lb)[4]
Dimensions2.45 m (8 ft 0 in) in height,
1.53 m (5 ft 0 in) in length and width[5]
Start of mission
Launch dateNovember 2024 (planned)[6][needs update?]
RocketFalcon Heavy
Launch siteKennedy Space Center,LC-39A
ContractorSpaceX
Moonrover
Landing dateNovember 2024[needs update?]
Landing siteMons Mouton,South poleregion[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 alunar roverdeveloped byNASA(Ames Research Center), and currently planned to be delivered to the surface of the Moon in November 2024.[6][needs update?]The rover will be tasked with prospecting forlunar resourcesin permanently shadowed areas in thelunar south poleregion, especially by mapping the distribution and concentration ofwater ice.The mission builds on a previous NASA rover concept calledResource Prospector,which was cancelled in 2018.[8]

On 11 June 2020, NASA awardedAstrobotic TechnologyofPittsburgh,Pennsylvania,US$199.5 million to launchVIPERto the lunar south pole.VIPERwill be carried aboard Astrobotic'sGriffin landeras part of NASA'sCommercial Lunar Payload Services(CLPS) initiative. Astrobotic is responsible for end-to-end services for delivery ofVIPER,including integration with its Griffin lander, launch fromEarth,and landing on theMoon.[9]

Artist's conception of theVIPERrover on the Moon (Image courtesy of NASA Ames Research Center)

Overview[edit]

Orbital survey of the Moon taken by theMoon Mineralogy Mapperinstrument onIndia'sChandrayaan-1orbiter. Blue shows the spectral signature ofhydroxide,green shows the brightness of the surface as measured by reflected infrared radiation from theSunand red shows a mineral calledpyroxene.
The image shows the distribution of surface ice at the Moon's south pole (left) and north pole (right) as viewed by NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) spectrometer onboard India's Chandrayaan-1 orbiter.

TheVIPERrover has a size similar to a golf cart (around 1.4 × 1.4 × 2 m), and will be tasked with prospecting forlunar resources,especially forwater 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]

TheVIPERrover is part of the Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program managed by theScience Mission DirectorateatNASA Headquarters,and it is meant to support the crewedArtemis program.[2]NASA'sAmes Research Centeris managing the rover project. The hardware for the rover is being designed by theJohnson Space Center,while the instruments are provided by Ames, Kennedy, andHoneybee 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 cancelledResource 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]

Proposed landing site of the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER)

TheVIPERrover will operate on the western edge ofNobile crateronMons Moutonin the Moon'ssouth poleregion.[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 throughCommercial 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][needs update?]

Rover assembly and preparation for launch[edit]

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]The rover moved to the environmental testing phase in May.[20]

Science background[edit]

Main articles:Lunar waterandLunar resources

Data obtained byLunar Prospector,[21]Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter,Chandrayaan-1,and theLunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite,revealed thatlunar wateris present in the form of ice near the lunar poles, especially within permanently shadowed craters in thesouth pole region,[22][23]and present in the form of hydrated minerals in other high-latitude locations.[24]

Water may have been delivered to the Moon over geological timescales by the regular bombardment of water-bearingcomets,asteroidsandmeteoroids,[25]or continuously producedin situby the hydrogen ions (protons) of thesolar windimpacting oxygen-bearing minerals.[21]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.[26][27][23]

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 formetallurgicand chemical production processes.[28]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.[29]

Science payload[edit]

TheVIPERrover will be equipped with a drill and three analyzers. The Neutron Spectrometer System (NSS), will detect sub-surface water from a distance, then,VIPERwill 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 onboardspectrometers:[2][3][30]

The NIRVSS instrument
Instrument name Abbr. Provider Function[31]
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 byneutrons.Originally developed for theResource Prospectorrover.[10]
The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain
TRIDENT
Honeybee Robotics
 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 tohydroxyl(OH−). Originally developed for theResource Prospectorrover.[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 themass-to-charge ratioofionsto elucidate the chemical elements contained in the sample.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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