Astrobotic, a lunar logistics specialist, has been selected by NASA to deliver the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (Viper) to the south pole of the Moon in 2023.

Under the terms of the $199.5 million contract – part of Nasa’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) programme – Astrobotic will provide an end-to-end delivery for VIPER on board the company’s own Griffin lunar lander.

Griffin

The Griffin lunar lander is described as Astrobotic’s medium capacity lander product line.

The company says it is capable of delivering up to 500 kg of mass to the lunar surface. It uses many of the same subsystems and approaches employed by the Peregrine lander, which will fly two years before VIPER.

It describes its operation as follows:

When Viper disembarks from Griffin’s ramps onto the Moon, it will survey the surface and subsurface for water ice, which could be used for breathable air and rocket propellant by future deep space explorers. Viper’s mapping of lunar water ice could be the first step toward utilizing resources in the space environment – rather than carting them all from Earth – to enable more affordable and sustainable space exploration.

Astrobotic CEO John Thornton commented:

“It is an enormous honor and responsibility to be chosen by Nasa to deliver this mission of national importance. Astrobotic’s lunar logistics services were created to open a new era on the Moon. Delivering Viper to look for water and setting the stage for the first human crew since Apollo embodies our mission as a company.”

The image above shows an impression of Viper egressing from Griffin on the lunar surface.

Moon Ranger

Griffin’s delivery of VIPER will be Astrobotic’s second CLPS delivery, following the company’s Peregrine lander delivery in 2021.

In July 2019, Astrobotic was selected by Nasa’s Lunar Surface and Instrumentation and Technology Payload program to develop an autonomous lunar rover, along with Carnegie Mellon University. The contract was worth $5.6 million.

The 13 kilogram autonomous rover known as MoonRanger, is being developed to provide high fidelity 3D maps of the Moon’s surface in areas such as polar regions and lunar pits. It’s due for delivery to the Moon in 2022.