NASA says its VIPER ( Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover ) rover will head to the western rim of the Nobile crater near the moon's south pole in 2023, targeting a region where the ever-shaded craters are cool enough. as for there to be water ice, but where enough rays of the sun reach to keep the rover thanks to the high elevation of this crater (its solar panels would receive the necessary energy).
This mission is intended to open a path for Artemis astronauts who would land on the lunar surface by 2024, and for a sustainable lunar settlement that could take shape by the end of the decade.
"Once it is on the surface, it will search for ice and other resources on and below the lunar surface that could one day be used and collected for long-term human exploration of the moon," said Lori Glaze, director of the science division. planetaria at NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
NASA has awarded Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic $ 199.5 million to fly the VIPER rover to the moon by the end of 2023. And Astrobotic, in turn, has selected a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket to launch the mission.
It would be the first American robotic rover to land on the Moon and is expected to operate for at least 100 days. The rover would use drills and scanning equipment to map the water ice reservoirs that NASA hopes to find within a little less than a meter below the surface.
