The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) was developed to identify and map resources, such as lunar ice, at the Moon's South Pole. Despite NASA's decision on July 17 to discontinue the VIPER mission in favor of alternative methods for detecting frozen water at the lunar South Pole, the agency is offering the VIPER rover "as-is" to interested partners.
From July 17 to August 1, NASA collected initial expressions of interest from the community. The current RFI seeks detailed proposals on how the VIPER rover could be utilized at minimal to no cost to the government. This invitation is extended to U.S. organizations and industries, with international interest to be handled separately.
"NASA thanks everyone who provided expressions of interest in using VIPER and looks forward to learning more about how potential partners envision accomplishing NASA's science and exploration goals with the rover," said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
"We want to make the best use possible of the engineering, technology, and expertise that have been developed by this project to advance scientific knowledge of the Moon. Partnership opportunities on VIPER would allow us to do this without impacting our future cadence of commercial deliveries to the Moon, to continue lunar science and exploration for everyone's benefit."
NASA's upcoming lunar surface operations, including missions under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and instruments on crewed missions, will continue to enhance the agency's understanding of volatiles across the South Pole region.
The RFI is accessible online and will remain open for responses until 11:59 p.m. EDT on Monday, September 2.
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