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#1 2020-06-14 20:11:18
- SpaceNut
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- From: New Hampshire
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VIPER Lunar Rover to Map Water Ice
I think any unmanned mission counts...as if we are going to stay we need to find good stores of the water or ice..
New VIPER Lunar Rover to Map Water Ice on the Moon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VIPER_(rover)
On 11 June 2020, NASA has awarded Astrobotic Technology of Pittsburgh US$199.5 million to deliver NASA Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) to the Moon's South Pole in late 2023. VIPER rover will be carried by Astrobotic with its Griffin lander in late 2023. VIPER's flight to the Moon is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. Or sooner...
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#2 2022-07-28 04:24:49
- Mars_B4_Moon
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Re: VIPER Lunar Rover to Map Water Ice
Engineers are Testing how VIPER can Handle the Gnarliest Lunar Terrain
https://www.universetoday.com/156928/en … r-terrain/
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#3 2023-12-30 18:51:06
- SpaceNut
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Re: VIPER Lunar Rover to Map Water Ice
NASA's lunar rover completes build milestone in time for the new year
Halfway through assembling the flight vehicle currently, the team’s progress is available for enthusiasts to witness through web chats and watch parties hosted by NASA, an interactive behind-the-scenes look that also provides insights from the project’s experts.
metal tire with spoked rim design is interesting.
The VIPER is expected to land on the Moon’s south pole and leverage System Health Enabled Real-time Planning Advisor, or SHERPA, a cutting-edge artificial intelligence system named after the Himalayan Sherpa people, expert guides to climbers daring to venture the Himalayan mountains.
SHERPA will ingest and evaluate massive volumes of data to account for harsh conditions on the moon’s surface and determine the probability of discovering resources at designated sites, contributing to our better understanding of the moon, particularly the South Pole, a prime target for future exploration.
“It can assess the various risks of different routes by running thousands of mission simulations, and even provide contingency branches for where to go if something changes or doesn’t go according to plan,” described NASA in a statement earlier this month.
Nasa is looking to launch it this year 2024....
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#4 2024-07-28 14:23:13
- SpaceNut
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Re: VIPER Lunar Rover to Map Water Ice
Opinion: NASA’s VIPER cancellation is more than a disappointment, it’s a scandal
Ars Technica notes some of the causes of VIPER’s cost increases, including supply chain problems, schedule slippages and a need to further test the Griffin lander to ensure that it will reach the lunar surface. NASA has spent $433 million on the project and has built the lander.
To get it on the lunar surface and operating, the space agency will need an additional $176 million, bringing the total cost to $609 million. Rather than try to find the additional money in its current budget, affecting other programs, the space agency has thrown in the towel.Because ramping down the VIPER mission will cost money, NASA will only save $84 million by canceling it. The space agency is canceling a vital mission to prospect for water ice on the moon to save under $100 million. Ironically, VIPER recently passed initial environmental tests.
How can VIPER be saved? NASA has stated that if no way is found to come up with the $84 million by Aug. 1, the lunar rover will be broken up and its instruments distributed to other missions, as yet undefined.
not going to the moon to stay without water being harvested.
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#5 2024-07-28 21:08:47
- tahanson43206
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Re: VIPER Lunar Rover to Map Water Ice
For SpaceNut .... re Post #4 ... thanks for this post about Viper.
I have written to a government official to request that funds be found to save this program.
The funds need to come from outside NASA.
It is likely my request will never be seen by a human being, let alone by the official, but the chance it will succeed and have the desired effect is not zero. On the other hand, the chance is probably comparable to winning the lottery. Every few months, despite the astronomical odds, someone ** always ** wins the lottery.
(th)
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#6 2025-09-22 06:43:18
- SpaceNut
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Re: VIPER Lunar Rover to Map Water Ice
Being revived NASA resurrects its VIPER moon rover for a 2027 mission with Blue Origin
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.
“This delivery could show us where ice is most likely to be found and easiest to access, as a future resource for humans,” said Joel Kearns, Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration with NASA's Science Mission Directorate, in a statement. “And by studying these sources of lunar water, we also gain valuable insight into the distribution and origin of volatiles across the solar system, helping us better understand the processes that have shaped our space environment and how our inner solar system has evolved.”
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