Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover. Originally cancelled July 2024 due to cost overruns, now contracted to Blue Origin for delivery.
VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) is a NASA mobile robot designed to explore the lunar south pole in search of water ice and other volatiles. The golf-cart-sized rover will venture into permanently shadowed craters — areas that haven't seen sunlight in billions of years — where water ice is believed to exist in significant quantities.
The mission has had a turbulent history. Originally planned for a 2023 launch aboard Astrobotic's Griffin lander, escalating costs and schedule delays led NASA to cancel VIPER in July 2024 despite the rover being fully assembled. However, NASA subsequently contracted Blue Origin to deliver the rover to the lunar surface, reviving the mission with a target date of late 2027.
VIPER carries four instruments including a 1-meter drill called TRIDENT (The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain) capable of extracting samples from below the lunar surface. Understanding the distribution and accessibility of water ice is critical for future sustained human presence on the Moon — water can provide drinking water, oxygen, and rocket propellant.
Create detailed maps of water ice concentration and distribution across the lunar south pole, determining how accessible these resources are for future missions.
Use the TRIDENT drill to extract samples from up to 1 meter below the surface, analyzing ice deposits hidden beneath the regolith.
Identify and measure various volatiles (not just water) using the MSolo mass spectrometer and NIRVSS near-infrared spectrometer, understanding the full chemistry of polar deposits.
Assess whether lunar water ice exists in quantities and forms that could be practically extracted for drinking water, oxygen, and rocket propellant — the key to sustainable lunar presence.
Demonstrate the ability to operate a rover in and out of permanently shadowed craters, managing extreme temperature variations and limited solar power.
NASA announced cancellation of the VIPER lunar rover due to escalating costs and schedule delays. The fully assembled rover may be repurposed, with NASA later awarding Blue Origin a contract to potentially deliver it to the Moon in 2027.
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