NASA’s VIPER mission delayed to 2024, is designed to look for origin of water on Moon
NASA has requested the Astrobotic and VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) team to adjust VIPER’s delivery to the Moon’s South Pole from November 2023 to November 2024. VIPER is a rover that will return measurements that will provide insight into the origin and distribution of water on the Moon and help determine how future human space exploration missions can harvest the Moon’s resources.
VIPER is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, which allows the acquisition of lunar delivery services from American companies for payloads for the moon that advance science, exploration or commercial development capabilities. Through CLPS, NASA contracted Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic to deliver VIPER to the lunar surface on the company’s Griffin lander....