page_title: Artemis program
section_title: VIPER
hierarchical_section_title: Artemis program / Planned surface operations / VIPER
caption_attribution_description: English: VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) is a planned robotic lunar rover by NASA, that will be tasked to prospect for natural lunar resources, especially water ice within a permanently shadowed region near the lunar south pole. The VIPER mission is part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) meant to support the crewed Artemis Program. Launch is expected in late 2023.
context_page_description: The Artemis program is a US government-funded crewed spaceflight program that has the goal of landing "the first woman and the next man" on the Moon, specifically at the lunar south pole region by 2024. The program is carried out predominantly by NASA, U.S. commercial spaceflight companies contracted by NASA, and international partners such as the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Canadian Space Agency and the Australian Space Agency. NASA is leading the program, but expects international partnerships to play a key role in advancing Artemis as the next step towards the long-term goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon, laying the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy, and eventually sending humans to Mars.
  In December 2017, President Donald Trump signed Space Policy Directive 1, authorizing the lunar campaign. Artemis draws upon ongoing spacecraft programs including Orion, the Lunar Gateway, and Commercial Lunar Payload Services, and adds an undeveloped crewed lander.
context_section_description: The VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) is a lunar rover by NASA planned to be delivered to the surface of the Moon as early as December 2022. The rover will be tasked with prospecting for lunar resources in permanently shadowed areas in the lunar south pole region, especially by mapping the distribution and concentration of water ice. The mission builds on a previous NASA rover concept called Resource Prospector, which was cancelled in 2018.
  The VIPER rover is part of the Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program managed by the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, and it is meant to support the crewed Artemis program. NASA's Ames Research Center is managing the rover project. The hardware for the rover is being designed by the Johnson Space Center, while the instruments are provided by Ames, Kennedy, and Honeybee Robotics. The project manager is Daniel Andrews, and the project scientist is Anthony Colaprete, who is implementing the technology developed for the now cancelled Resource Prospector rover. The estimated cost of the mission is US$250 million.
  The VIPER rover will operate at a south pole region yet to be determined. VIPER is planned to rove several kilometers, collecting data on different kinds of soil environments affected by light and temperature —those in complete darkness, occasional light, and in constant sunlight. Once it enters a permanently shadowed location, it will operate on battery power alone and will not be able to recharge them until it drives to a sunlit area. Its total operation time will be approximately 100 Earth days.
  Both the launcher and the lander to be used will be competitively provided through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contractors. NASA is aiming at landing the rover as early as December 2022.
caption: NASA's VIPER rover
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