NASA Begins Construction of Moon Rover to Search for Ice

The search for ice at the Moon’s poles has captivated the field of lunar science ever since water molecules were discovered inside shadowed crater floors by an instrument on an Indian satellite over a decade ago. Now, NASA is putting together a golf cart-sized rover to venture into these dark polar craters and hunt for ice deposits that could be utilized by future astronauts to create their own rocket propellant and breathable air.

“A large group of people have been working on this idea for 10-plus years,” shared Anthony Colaprete, project scientist for NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission.

Earlier this year, engineers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston began constructing the rover’s chassis. In June, the space agency officially approved VIPER’s team to proceed with full-scale assembly and testing, leading up to the rover’s planned launch in November 2024.

A revolutionary rover

The four-wheel rover stands out from NASA’s nuclear-powered robots that explore Mars. VIPER is specifically designed to navigate dark craters, areas that have been devoid of sunlight for billions of years. Scientists have discovered evidence suggesting that these cold, shadowed crater floors contain water ice near or on the surface, making it accessible for astronauts.

“Because it goes into dark places, it is the first rover with headlights,” Colaprete revealed during a presentation at the NASA Exploration Science Forum. The LED headlights will cast a blue hue on the Moon’s charcoal-colored landscape.

VIPER will also operate differently compared to NASA’s Mars rovers. While it takes a radio signal between 5 to 20 minutes to travel at the speed of light between Earth and Mars, it only takes a few seconds to reach the Moon. This means that scientists can control VIPER more like a drone. “We do real-time science,” Colaprete explained.

The rover will embark on daring journeys into the perpetually dark craters, relying on battery power for up to 50 hours during each traverse that takes VIPER beyond the reach of the Sun’s rays, always near the horizon at the lunar poles. Weighing 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms), the rover will enter hibernation when the Moon’s rotation causes the south pole to shift out of Earth’s view for two weeks, temporarily cutting off direct communication.

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NASA unveiled the VIPER mission in 2019. VIPER builds upon the Resource Prospector mission, which NASA canceled in 2018 as the agency shifted towards a commercial approach for robotic lunar exploration. This led to the creation of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which includes a list of companies eligible to bid on “task orders” for transporting science and tech demo payloads to the Moon.

Astrobotic, one of these companies, was selected by NASA in 2020 to deliver VIPER to a landing site near Nobile crater, a 45-mile-wide (73-kilometer) impact basin located at the Moon’s south pole. The commercial delivery agreement, valued at approximately $200 million, allows Astrobotic to design and construct the lander that will transport VIPER to the Moon. This system would have originally been developed by NASA for the initial Resource Prospector mission, but at a higher cost.

Astrobotic chose SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket to launch their Griffin lander, which will carry the VIPER rover to the Moon.

The entire mission is estimated to cost around $500 million, covering the rover, its scientific instruments, and Astrobotic’s contract, which includes the cost of the Falcon Heavy launch.

“We’re making steady progress,” Colaprete stated. “We’re now less than one year away from delivering VIPER to Astrobotic for integration onto their Griffin lander. So the launch is on the horizon. Our planned launch date is November 10, 2024, with a projected mission duration of five months. We’re exploring possibilities to extend that by an additional month or two.”

Two out of VIPER’s three scientific instruments have already been integrated into the vehicle in Houston. The ground team will then attach solar arrays, four 20-inch (50-centimeter) wheels, and a 3-foot-long (1-meter) drill that will probe the lunar surface to measure the depth of any ice deposits. Additionally, a suite of cameras and an 8-foot (2.5-meter) mast extending above the ground will be installed on the rover.

Water ice holds immense potential for space exploration. The hydrogen and oxygen it contains could be utilized to generate electricity, rocket fuel, or converted into breathable air for pressurized habitats on the Moon. The tell-tale chemical signature of water was initially detected by a NASA instrument on India’s Chandrayaan 1 orbiter mission in 2009.

However, before any of these applications can be realized, scientists need precise knowledge of the water’s location and accessibility.

“We are going to a place where there is enhanced hydrogen,” Colaprete explained. “I personally have no doubt we will see water in some form or another, it’s just a matter of the concentrations.”