As part of its Artemis program, the NASA is planning to search for water and other resources on the moon in 2023.
- The U.S. space agency is planning to send its first mobile robot to the Moon in late 2023 in search of ice and other resources on and below the lunar surface.
- The mobile robot named the “Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER will collect data that would help NASA map resources at the lunar South Pole that could one day be harvested for long-term human exploration at the Moon.
- VIPER runs on solar power. It will be required to quickly maneuver around the extreme swings in light and dark at the lunar South Pole.
- NASA has awarded a task order to Astrobotic for VIPER’s launch, transit and delivery to the lunar surface as part of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
- Under the Artemis program, NASA aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before.
