Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Lights-on for the ice-hound!
Image credit: NASA

It’s alive!

NASA has picked Blue Origin to deliver the VIPER rover to the Moon’s south pole.

The contentious NASA VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) project has gone through a paywall of issues in the past.

Following a comprehensive internal review, NASA announced on July 17th, 2024 its intent to discontinue development of the VIPER project. 

VIPER is designed to search for volatile resources, such as ice, on the lunar surface and collect invaluable science data useful for the long-term stay of Artemis crew members on the Moon.

Important insights

 “Our rover will explore the extreme environment of the lunar south pole, traveling to small, permanently shadowed regions to help inform future landing sites for our astronauts and better understand the Moon’s environment – important insights for sustaining humans over longer missions, as America leads our future in space,” declared acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy in a late Friday press statement.

The VIPER rover heading into the Thermal Vacuum (TVAC) Chamber for testing.
Image credit: Daniel Andrews/LinkedIn

NASA awarded Blue Origin of Kent, Washington, a CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) task order with an option to deliver VIPER to the Moon’s south pole region in late 2027.

The task order is called CS-7. It has an award base to design the payload-specific accommodations and to demonstrate how Blue Origin’s flight design will off-load the rover to the lunar surface.

There is an option in the contract to deliver and safely deploy the rover to the Moon’s surface.

Exercise that option

“NASA will make the decision to exercise that option after the execution and review of the base task and of Blue Origin’s first flight of the Blue Moon MK1 lander,” stated NASA.

This approach will reduce the agency’s cost and technical risk, NASA adds. The rover has a targeted science window for its 100-day mission that requires a landing by late 2027.

Artwork depicts NASA’s VIPER, on the prowl for water and other resources.
Image credit: NASA Ames/Daniel Rutter

The reaction to the decision has been swift from the space community.

“Thank you to NASA for working really hard to find an alternative, cost-effective approach to address the objectives of the VIPER mission. And thank you to the community for ensuring that NASA understood how important this mission is to lunar science and exploration. We look forward to learning more about the planned implementation in the months ahead,” responded Benjamin Greenhagen, chair of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG).

Blue Origin responsibilities

According to NASA, Blue Origin will be responsible for the complete landing mission architecture and will conduct design, analysis, and testing of a large lunar lander capable of safely delivering the lunar volatiles science rover to the Moon.

An early close-up view of the areas that were to be explored by VIPER, showing a nominal traverse route and highlighting permanently shadowed regions that may contain water ice and other volatiles.
Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio/Ernie Wright

“Blue Origin also will handle end-to-end payload integration, planning and support, and post-landing payload deployment activities. NASA will conduct rover operations and science planning,” NASA stated.

NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley led the VIPER rover development and will lead its science investigations, and NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston provided rover engineering development for Ames.

Astrobotics statement

Also issuing a statement today regarding NASA’s decision to fly Blue Origin is the CLPS provider, Astrobotics.

“Astrobotic believes in the deep scientific significance of NASA’s VIPER mission. We are heartened to hear it will have the opportunity to fly and potentially yield critical insights for the broader lunar community,” an Astrobotics statement noted.

“Given the compressed timeline of the CS-7 mission and our commitments to existing customers, Astrobotic made the strategic decision not to submit a bid. Our focus remains on the successful delivery of our customer payloads aboard Griffin-1, and our third lander mission thereafter.”

Artistic image shows Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 lander and NASA’s VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) on the lunar surface.
Image credit: Blue Origin