(NASA)
NASA has approved the final look of the VIPER lunar rover, which in the fall of 2023 will go to explore the south pole of the moon and look for deposits of water ice there.
The device will receive three scientific instruments, a drill and headlights, and will be able to move at a speed of 20 centimeters per second.
Astrobotic Technology is developing the VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) lunar rover as part of the NASA Artemis program.
The rover will explore the vicinity of the large Nobile crater in the south polar region of the Moon
In 100 days of operation, the device must conduct three drilling sessions and analyze the extracted soil samples and surface regolith for the content of water ice.
This is necessary for planning future manned missions to the Moon.
On October 27, 2021, NASA announced that it had completed a critical review of the rover's design and approved its layout.
The total mass of the four-wheeled lunar rover will be almost 450 kilograms, it will receive energy from a solar battery with a peak power of 450 watts and move at a maximum speed of about 20 centimeters per second.
The device will receive a neutron spectrometer, mass spectrometer and infrared spectrometer, as well as cameras and a meter drill.
VIPER will be the first lunar rover to be equipped with headlights for working in low light conditions.
Construction of the lunar rover will begin in late 2022 at Johnson Space Center in Houston, and software and navigation systems for it will be developed at the Ames Center.
The rover should be ready by mid-2023, so that in November of the same year, the Falcon Heavy launch vehicle will launch the Griffin lander, which will carry VIPER, into space.
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