The prospect of sending humans back to the moon within the next decade has got NASA more excited than it has ever been. The wealth of side projects meant to support what is now known as the Artemis program is expanding at fast pace, as this time America is going to the Moon to stay.
To survive there, people need resources, preferably ones that can be found in-situ, eliminating the expensive and time-consuming need of having stuff shipped up there from Earth. And one of the most important such resources is water.
We’ve known for some time the Moon has the capability of holding water, supposedly frozen in the craters of the satellite's poles. And just a few years before men and women land there, a special mission will be sent up to look for it.
The mission itself does not have a name yet, but the tool which will be used for the project does: Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover. VIPER, for short.
VIPER is a machine the size of a golf cart equipped with an array of sensors and tools, part of them meant, for the first time ever, to sample the lunar water ice. VIPER will do so in the exact same area where Artemis astronauts will touch down a few years later, in 2024: the lunar South Pole.
Just as other vehicles of its class, the VIPER will not be stationary, but will be able to move about the surface of the Moon to sample the soil. For a comprehensive look at the VIPER tools and instruments you can check out the press release section below.
Finding water on the Moon could prove essential for the long term plans NASA now has. The live-giving substance could be used on location to provide both breathable oxygen, but also the hydrogen- and oxygen-fuel rockets and landers of subsequent missions to other places in our solar system might need.
Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies. Full profile
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