VIPER (rover)

*VIPER*
	Artist's impression of VIPER operating in darkness.
Names	Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover
Mission type	Exploration, resource prospecting
Operator	NASA
Website	https://www.nasa.gov/viper
Mission duration	100 days (planned)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Robotic lunar rover
Manufacturer	NASA Ames Research Center
Dry mass	430 kg (950 lb)
Dimensions	2.45 m (8 ft 0 in) in height,; 1.53 m (5 ft 0 in) in length and width
Start of mission
Launch date	September 2025 (Canceled July 2024)
Rocket	Falcon Heavy
Launch site	Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A
Contractor	SpaceX
Moon rover
Landing date	September 2025 (canceled)
Landing site	Mons Mouton, South pole region
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)
	Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) ← Blue Ghost

VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) was a lunar rover project developed by NASA (Ames Research Center) until cancelled in 2024. The rover would have been tasked with prospecting for lunar resources in permanently shadowed areas in the lunar south pole region, especially by mapping the distribution and concentration of water ice. The mission built on a previous NASA rover concept, the Resource Prospector, which had been cancelled in 2018.^[8]

VIPER was to be carried aboard Astrobotic's Griffin lander as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.^[9]

^ Cite error: The named reference Crunch Oct2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference Loff Oct2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Bartells Oct2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Colaprete, Anthony (17 August 2020). "VIPER: A lunar water reconnaissance mission" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 25 August 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ "NASA's Next Lunar Rover Progresses Toward 2023 Launch". NASA. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ Cite error: The named reference nasa-20240717 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Wright Ladd Colaprete Ladd 2021 s386 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Bartels, Meghan (16 October 2019). "Moon VIPER: NASA Wants to Send a Water-Sniffing Rover to the Lunar South Pole in 2022". Space.com. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
^ "NASA Selects Astrobotic to Fly Water-Hunting Rover to the Moon". NASA. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[Crunch_Oct2019-1] Cite error: The named reference Crunch Oct2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Loff_Oct2019-2] Cite error: The named reference Loff Oct2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Bartells_Oct2019-3] Cite error: The named reference Bartells Oct2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[colaprete-20200817-4] Colaprete, Anthony (17 August 2020). "VIPER: A lunar water reconnaissance mission" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 25 August 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[NASA20210224-5] "NASA's Next Lunar Rover Progresses Toward 2023 Launch". NASA. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[nasa-20240717-6] Cite error: The named reference nasa-20240717 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Wright_Ladd_Colaprete_Ladd_2021_s386-7] Cite error: The named reference Wright Ladd Colaprete Ladd 2021 s386 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[8] Bartels, Meghan (16 October 2019). "Moon VIPER: NASA Wants to Send a Water-Sniffing Rover to the Lunar South Pole in 2022". Space.com. Retrieved 13 April 2021.

[VIPER-9] "NASA Selects Astrobotic to Fly Water-Hunting Rover to the Moon". NASA. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

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Spacecraft properties
Artist's impression of VIPER operating in darkness.
Names	Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover

Mission type	Exploration, resource prospecting
Operator	NASA
Website	https://www.nasa.gov/viper
Mission duration	100 days (planned)^[1]^[2]^[3]


Spacecraft type	Robotic lunar rover
Manufacturer	NASA Ames Research Center
Dry mass	430 kg (950 lb)^[4]
Dimensions	2.45 m (8 ft 0 in) in height, 1.53 m (5 ft 0 in) in length and width^[5]


Start of mission
Launch date	September 2025 (Canceled July 2024)
Rocket	Falcon Heavy
Launch site	Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A
Contractor	SpaceX


Moon rover
Landing date	September 2025 (canceled)^[6]
Landing site	Mons Mouton, South pole region^[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)
Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) ← Blue Ghost