VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover), lunar rover, NASA, USA

NASA’s water-seeking robotic Moon rover just booked a ride to the Moon’s South Pole. Astrobotic of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been selected to deliver the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, to the Moon in 2023. During its 100-Earth-day mission, the approximately 1,000-pound rover will roam several miles and use its four science instruments to sample various soil environments in search of water ice. Its survey will help pave the way for a new era of human missions to the lunar surface and will bring us a step closer to developing a sustainable, long-term robotic and human presence on the Moon as part of the Artemis program.

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Using a mix of 3D-printed plastic and metal parts, a full-scale replica of NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, was built inside a clean room at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The activity served as a dress rehearsal for the flight version, which is scheduled for assembly in the summer of 2022.

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NASA’s VIPER team practiced driving the rover down Griffin’s sizeable ramps to mimic safely egressing onto the lunar surface. Griffin’s ramps were positioned in a range of average and worst-case inclines up to 33 degrees to thoroughly test how VIPER could exit the lander. To put this in perspective, Pittsburgh’s steepest residential street, Canton Avenue, is estimated to be a 29 degree slope

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