NASA Presses Forward in Search for VIPER Moon Rover Partner
February 3, 2025 – NASA is actively seeking a commercial partner to build and deliver a critical component of its upcoming Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission to the Moon. The rover’s pressurized payload will house scientific instruments and enable NASA to explore and study the Moon’s polar regions, which are believed to contain water ice and other valuable resources.
“Finding a commercial partner for VIPER’s pressurized payload is a key step in advancing our exploration of the Moon,” said Keith Cowing, NASA’s VIPER Program Scientist. “This mission will help us gain a better understanding of our lunar neighbor and inform future human missions to the surface.”
The VIPER mission is scheduled to launch in 2024 and will land on the Moon’s South Pole. The rover will spend about 100 days exploring a permanently shadowed region known as a crater, where water ice is thought to exist. The mission’s primary objective is to determine the abundance, distribution, and characteristics of water ice in the lunar polar regions.
The pressurized payload will house VIPER’s four scientific instruments, including the Near-Infrared Volatiles Spectrometer System (NIRVSS), the Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrains (TRIDENT), the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO), and the VIPER Camera Suite (VCS). These instruments will allow VIPER to analyze the composition of the lunar surface, search for water ice, and provide high-resolution images of the rover’s surroundings.
“The pressurized payload is a vital part of the VIPER mission,” said Anthony Colaprete, VIPER Project Scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center. “It will provide a stable and protected environment for our scientific instruments, enabling us to conduct groundbreaking research on the Moon’s polar regions.”
NASA is seeking a commercial partner with experience in designing, developing, and delivering pressurized systems for space applications. The partner will be responsible for building and integrating the VIPER pressurized payload, as well as providing engineering support during mission operations.
“This is an exciting opportunity for a commercial partner to contribute to a landmark lunar mission,” said Cowing. “We look forward to working with a partner who shares our commitment to innovation and exploration.”
Interested companies can submit proposals to NASA by April 3, 2025. NASA expects to select a commercial partner in the summer of 2025.
For more information on the VIPER mission, visit: www.nasa.gov/viper
NASA Presses Forward Search for VIPER Moon Rover Partner
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