Sep 22, 2025 02:28 AM
https://www.engadget.com/science/space/n...15035.html
INTRO: NASA is apparently giving its ice-scouting moon rover mission another try. The space agency has announced that the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) project — which was called off last year after a series of delays and mounting costs — could catch a ride to the moon with Blue Origin in 2027 under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
Blue Origin must first plan and demonstrate how the delivery at the lunar surface would work, and if it's all to NASA's liking, VIPER will be ferried by the company's Blue Moon Mark 1 lander.
Blue Origin hasn't yet attempted a moon landing, but the first opportunity for its Blue Moon Mark 1 lander is expected to launch later this year as part of another CLPS delivery. That mission will also help to inform NASA's decision about VIPER's rideshare, which would use a second Mark 1 lander that the agency says is already in production.
If VIPER does eventually make it to the moon, it'll be deployed in the extreme environment of the lunar South Pole to search for water ice and other resources that could support future missions... (MORE - details)
INTRO: NASA is apparently giving its ice-scouting moon rover mission another try. The space agency has announced that the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) project — which was called off last year after a series of delays and mounting costs — could catch a ride to the moon with Blue Origin in 2027 under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
Blue Origin must first plan and demonstrate how the delivery at the lunar surface would work, and if it's all to NASA's liking, VIPER will be ferried by the company's Blue Moon Mark 1 lander.
Blue Origin hasn't yet attempted a moon landing, but the first opportunity for its Blue Moon Mark 1 lander is expected to launch later this year as part of another CLPS delivery. That mission will also help to inform NASA's decision about VIPER's rideshare, which would use a second Mark 1 lander that the agency says is already in production.
If VIPER does eventually make it to the moon, it'll be deployed in the extreme environment of the lunar South Pole to search for water ice and other resources that could support future missions... (MORE - details)