NASA Viper Rover: Where Will This Space Agency Send This Golf Cart to Look for Ice?

When the rover - the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) - comes in a few years, NASA has picked the crater that it will spend roughly 100 days studying.

VIPER will touch down near the moon's south pole, on the western border of the 45-mile-wide Nobile crater, which was created when something struck the moon. The sun lies low on the horizon towards the poles. Experts said the bottoms of holes, always in the shade, are among the coldest regions in the solar system.

According to NASA experts, the Nobile area is a good choice since the terrain is varied yet soft enough for the rover to travel.

Daniel Andrews, VIPER project manager at NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, said in a statement that choosing a VIPER landing site is an exciting and crucial decision for them.

He added that VIPER is venturing into unknown terrain, guided by science, to test theories and uncover vital data for future human space travel. The New York Times said VIPER could not venture far into the dark since solar panels fuel it - its batteries will allow it to operate in darkness for up to 50 hours - and it requires a direct line of light to communicate with Earth.

(Photo: NASA Ames/Daniel Rutter)
Illustration of NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) on the surface of the Moon

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VIPER is about the size of a golf cart. It is 5 feet long, 5 feet broad, and 8 feet tall. It will weigh around 1,000 pounds with various equipment, including a drill that will allow it to retrieve samples from beneath the surface.

VIPER Landing Site: 93 Square Kilometers in Size

Space.com said the Nobile site is 93 square kilometers (36 square miles) in size. The solar-powered VIPER, which weighs 450 kilograms (950 pounds), will measure and describe the water ice beneath its wheels at various sites around Nobile, including PSRs, which are among the coldest places in the solar system. VIPER will collect samples from up to 1 meter (3.3 feet) deep over 100 Earth days, utilizing three spectrometers and a drill.

In the same Space report, Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's Science Mission Directorate chief, also said that the data VIPER returns would give lunar scientists across the world a better understanding of the moon's history. According to him, the data will also aid future Artemis missions to the moon and beyond by better comprehending the lunar environment in previously unknown locations hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.

The VIPER team had chosen four finalist landing locations for the four-wheeled robot near the lunar south pole. VIPER project scientist Tony Colaprete of NASA Ames also revealed that the other three were outside Haworth Crater, a ridgeline extending from Shackleton Crater, a location near Shoemaker Crater.

According to Colaprete, all four candidate locations are fascinating and appropriate both scientifically and logistically.

Viper Mission: A Total of $660 Million

NASA officials said the overall cost of VIPER's mission would be around $660 million, including $433.5 million for mission development and operations and $226.5 million for the delivery contract with Astrobotic, which covers the cost of launch. The agency used NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program to sign the delivery contract.

VIPER will be NASA's first automated lunar rover. However, it will not be the agency's first wheeled lunar vehicle of any kind: On the final three Apollo missions, in 1971 and 1972, NASA deployed astronaut-driven lunar buggies.