The Mojave Volatiles Prospector ( MVP ) project is a science - driven field program with the goal of producing critical knowledge for conducting robotic exploration of the Moon . MVP feeds science , payload , and operational lessons learned to the development of a real - time , short - duration lunar polar volatiles prospecting mission . MVP achieved these goals through a simulated lunar rover mission to investigate the composition and distribution of surface and subsurface volatiles in a natural and a priori unknown environment within the Mojave Desert , improving our understanding of how to find , characterize , and access volatiles on the Moon .