Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER)¶
Blue Moon Pathfinder Mission 2 · manifested · NASA payload
A solar-powered rover, about 500 kg, built to map water ice and other volatiles at the lunar South Pole over a 100-day mission. It carries four instruments: the Neutron Spectrometer System (NSS) to find hydrogen down to about 1 m, the Near-Infrared Volatiles Spectrometer System (NIRVSS), the 1 m TRIDENT drill and the MSolo mass spectrometer. It is meant to drive into permanently shadowed regions. The rover is fully built. NASA cancelled it in July 2024, then bought a ride for it from Blue Origin in September 2025, as an option on task order CS-7. The suite counts once here, as in the study's earlier traceback.
PI: No single PI. Anthony Colaprete (NASA Ames) is the project scientist and NIRVSS PI. Instrument PIs in the 2021 science plan: Janine Captain (MSolo, Kennedy) and Kris Zacny (TRIDENT, Honeybee Robotics).
Built by: NASA Ames Research Center (lead and science), with NASA Johnson (rover engineering). Instruments: NSS and NIRVSS (Ames; Lockheed Martin built an NSS protoflight unit), TRIDENT (Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin company), MSolo (NASA Kennedy, with INFICON). (NASA center)
| Technology | science rover (lunar polar volatiles), with drill and instruments |
| Moon Base need | DN-007 L, DN-013 L (The knowledge base's own matching, not NASA's: it pairs VIPER with DN-007 L (shallow water ice, to 1 m, in shadowed South Pole regions; 'There are no ground truth measurements') and DN-013 L (other volatiles in the near surface). Both ask for in situ measurements to 1 m depth, which is what VIPER's drill and neutron spectrometer do. NASA's Moon Base pages list VIPER as a Phase 1 mission that will 'sample lunar soil at different depths and temperatures'. NASA ties it to choosing landing sites and to using local resources. A late-2027 landing falls in Phase 1 (the study's reading).) |
| Route onto CLPS | other NASA; No payload call: VIPER is an SMD mission in the Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program, delivered by CLPS. NASA's Administrator revealed it at the International Astronautical Congress in October 2019, built on the Resource Prospector project cancelled in 2018. Its first ride was task order 20A to Astrobotic's Griffin lander (June 2020). NASA cancelled VIPER on 17 July 2024 for cost growth and delays. After a February 2025 call for industry partners, NASA awarded Blue Origin task order CS-7 (signed 16 September 2025, announced 19 September). CS-7's base task designs the accommodations and shows how the lander will off-load the rover; an option delivers it. NASA decides on the option after reviewing the base task and Blue Origin's first MK1 flight. Total potential value: $190 million; $55.1 million obligated so far. A May 2026 change order (+$5.1 million) added 'SCALPSS payload requirements' to CS-7, so a SCALPSS unit may fly with VIPER; NASA's pages don't list it yet.; 2019-10 (announced); 2020-06-11 (TO 20A, Astrobotic); 2024-07-17 (cancelled); 2025-09-16 (CS-7 signed, Blue Origin) |
| Timeline | first funding 2013-10 (Resource Prospector, TechPort 34970); VIPER revealed October 2019; first flight test none for the rover; sister instrument units flew on Peregrine Mission One (2024-01-08) and IM-2 (2025-02-27); selected 2020-06-11 (TO 20A, Astrobotic); cancelled 2024-07-17; 2025-09-16 (CS-7, Blue Origin, delivery as an option); launch August 2027 (team plan, April 2026); landing September 2027 (team plan); late 2027 (NASA) |
| On the Moon | not yet flown |
| FO | company-level |
Flights before the Moon¶
- earlier lunar mission: LCROSS (2009): its near-infrared spectrometer heritage for NIRVSS, 2009-06-18 (launch). A predecessor, not VIPER's unit: the first NIRVSS development unit was a flight spare of the LCROSS near-infrared spectrometer (see pm1-nirvss). VIPER's science builds on LCROSS's finding of water.
"VIPER builds on the findings of the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS)"
— NTRS 20210015009, section 1.1"LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite), NASA Ames, launched with LRO"
— earlier finding of this study (not a public source)
- Earth orbit or deep space: Astrobotic's Peregrine Mission One: sister units of NSS and NIRVSS, 2024-01-08 (launch); did not land. Sister CLPS units of two VIPER instruments powered on and collected data in cislunar space, but did not reach the surface. The NIRVSS team calls the CLPS units precursors of VIPER's.
"Four out five NASA payloads on Peregrine successfully powered on and collected data while in flight:"
— NASA Science, Astrobotic Peregrine Mission One Concludes - NASA, lists NIRVSS and NSS
- earlier lunar mission: Intuitive Machines IM-2 (Nova-C 'Athena'): PRIME-1, with twin units of TRIDENT and MSolo, 2025-02-27 (launch); landed on its side 2025-03-06. The twin TRIDENT drill deployed horizontally, because the lander lay on its side; all its actuators, sensors and heaters worked, but it did not penetrate regolith. MSolo also flew. NASA said in 2020 that PRIME-1 is a precursor to VIPER's TRIDENT and MSolo, and the TRIDENT team says the two drills are identical.
"PRIME-1 is a precursor to the TRIDENT drill and the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations"
— NASA Asks Commercial Partners to Land Water-Measuring Drill on Moon - NASA"All actuators, sensors, and heaters worked as designed. Even though the drill did not penetrate regolith"
— Zacny et al. 2025, TRIDENT Ice Mining Drill for Lunar Volatile Prospecting for PRIME-1 and VIPER…, abstract"These two missions utilize identical drills with no functional"
— Zacny et al. 2025, TRIDENT Ice Mining Drill for Lunar Volatile Prospecting for PRIME-1 and VIPER…"the lander was on its side, preventing it from fully operating the drill and other instruments"
— NASA Receives Some Data Before Intuitive Machines Ends Lunar Mission - NASA
Heritage hardware¶
- design heritage (Resource Prospector): VIPER grew from Resource Prospector, an Ames-led rover and instrument project (2013-2018) that built the RP15 terrestrial prototype in 2015 and did field, chamber and 'microgravity simulator' tests in 2016-2017. NSS and NIRVSS were developed for it. None of it flew.
"During 2016 and 2017 the team conducted numerous hardware tests, including conducting analogue testing in the field and in microgravity simulators, as well as environmental chamber testing."
— TechPort project 34970, description"It was developed for the cancelled [[Resource Prospector (rover)|Resource Prospector]] rover."
— Wikipedia article "VIPER (rover)", revision 1355827528 of 2026-05-24T03:53:56Z, NSS
- flight hardware (the built rover): The flight rover was assembled on 4 June 2024 and had completed vibration testing when NASA cancelled it. The team ran a flight rover operational readiness test on 17 April 2025. It plans to integrate the rover on MK1 lander SN-002 in January 2027.
"Flight Rover Assembly complete 4 June 2024"
— NTRS 20260002876, page 6 (Fong, 29 Apr 2026)"At the time of its cancellation, VIPER had been fully assembled and completed vibration testing."
— Wikipedia article "VIPER (rover)", revision 1355827528 of 2026-05-24T03:53:56Z"Flight rover operational readiness test (17 April 2025)"
— NTRS 20260002876, page 42
- ground tests for lunar gravity (no flight): The flight rover cannot bear its own weight on Earth, so the team drove lighter 'Moon Gravity Representation Units' in NASA Glenn's SLOPE lab. A 2025 paper by Glenn and university co-authors, using VIPER test data, argues that such lunar-weight Earth tests give overoptimistic results: a slope climbed at about 42% slip on Earth would mean about 85% slip on the Moon. It names parabolic flights and scaling laws as the remaining options, and notes parabolic flights are short. The loop heat pipe was tested for lunar gravity by tilting it in a ground thermal vacuum test.
"VIPER Flight Unit unable to support its own weight on earth"
— NTRS 20240013903, page 5"This is an example of overoptimistic results produced by Earth-testing"
— NTRS 20250001809, page 20"Then, the options left are parabolic flights and scaling laws."
— NTRS 20250001809, page 21"The LHP evaporator and the condenser were tilted in the in-plane component such that the Earth's gravity was 1/6 g along its main axis"
— NTRS 20250004015, page 3
Funding before the lunar flight¶
- SMD (Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program): the VIPER project. NASA's figures, reported by SpacePolicyOnline: $250 million estimated in 2019; a $433.5 million commitment to Congress (landing 2023); $505.4 million after the delay to 2024; $609.6 million estimated in 2024 for a 2025 launch, which triggered the cancellation review. NASA had spent about $450 million by July 2024, not counting the CLPS delivery. These are NASA statements in a news report, not USAspending amounts, so amount_usd is left empty. (NASA SMD (Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program); FY2020-FY2024 (and continuing for the revived mission; not in public sources)): amount not in public sources
"By the time NASA was ready to make a cost commitment to Congress, that grew to $433.5 million with landing in 2023."
— NASA Cancels VIPER Lunar Rover – SpacePolicyOnline.com"Now it has slipped again to 2025 and with a cost of $609.6 million, more than 30 percent above the commitment."
— NASA Cancels VIPER Lunar Rover – SpacePolicyOnline.com"Kearns said NASA has spent about $450 million on VIPER so far, not including the CLPS contract"
— NASA Cancels VIPER Lunar Rover – SpacePolicyOnline.com"The ''VIPER'' rover is part of the Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program managed by the [[Science Mission Directorate]]"
— Wikipedia article "VIPER (rover)", revision 1355827528 of 2026-05-24T03:53:56Z
- Contracts whose USAspending description names VIPER (29 awards, 2019-2025): flight hardware and services such as Moog's integrated avionics unit ($17.3 million, 80JSC021C0002), the navigation cameras (Micro-Cameras & Space Exploration, 80JSC021P0006), thermal system flight components (Advanced Cooling Technologies, 80NSSC21C0600), the solar array (Sierra Nevada, 80JSC021P0017), the X-band system (Thales Alenia Space Espana, 80JSC020P0045), the NSS protoflight unit (Lockheed Martin, 80ARC020C0011), JPL and Aerospace Corporation support, and test services. Total of whole awards from USAspending. Linked by description; awards named 'Viper' for 3D printers or secure phones are left out. Most of VIPER's cost (NASA staff, other contracts) is not in this total. (NASA contracts (SMD, VIPER project); 2019-2025): $51,715,230
"VOLATILES INVESTIGATING POLAR EXPLORATION ROVER (VIPER) ROVER INTEGRATED AVIONICS UNIT (IAU)"
— USAspending.gov, 80JSC021C0002; MOOG INC; amount 17343416.0"VIPER LUNAR ROVER NAVIGATION CAMERAS"
— USAspending.gov, 80JSC021P0006; amount 6402059.93"VOLATILES INVESTIGATING POLAR EXPLORATION ROVER (VIPER) THERMAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FLIGHT COMPONENTS"
— USAspending.gov, 80NSSC21C0600; amount 6296804.0"National Aeronautics and Space Administration"
— USAspending.gov, awards (29 VIPER-named contracts), group_by awarding_agency: 29 awards, obligated 51715230.29
- SBIR Phase III to Honeybee Robotics, 'support for Volatile Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission' (80NSSC26C0080, signed 28 July 2026, to October 2028): money for the revived mission. Obligated $295,000 so far; base and options $3,470,276. Linked by its description. The instruments' earlier funding lines (Resource Prospector, NPLP, STMD GCD's PRIME-1, Honeybee's drill SBIRs, Brimrose's STTR) are in pm1-nss, pm1-nirvss, im2-trident and im2-msolo. (NASA SBIR Phase III; 2026-2028): $295,000
"SBIR PHASE III 80NSSC26C0080 SUPPORT FOR VOLATILE INVESTIGATING POLAR EXPLORATION ROVER (VIPER) MISSION"
— USAspending.gov, award 80NSSC26C0080, HONEYBEE ROBOTICS LLC; obligated 295000.0; base and all options 3470276.0; signed 2026-07-28
- Resource Prospector (TechPort 34970, Ames, October 2013 to June 2018, PI Anthony Colaprete): the rover and instrument concept VIPER grew from; RP built the RP15 prototype rover. No amount in TechPort. After RP's cancellation SMD kept developing its instruments through FY2018. (NASA HEOMD Advanced Exploration Systems, now listed under ESDMD; then SMD; FY2014-FY2018): amount not in public sources
"SMD determined to continue development of the instruments through the end of Fiscal Year 2018"
— TechPort project 34970, outcomes, Closed out (2018-06-30)"In 2015 the RP team greatly reduced risk and furthered flight design maturity by building "RP15""
— TechPort project 34970, description
How it got onto CLPS¶
"VIPER is managed within NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD), utilizing the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) lunar delivery model."
— NTRS 20240002248, abstract (IAC 2024)"When then-NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine revealed the project at the 2019 International Astronautical Congress, the estimated cost was $250 million."
— NASA Cancels VIPER Lunar Rover – SpacePolicyOnline.com, SpacePolicyOnline, 17 Jul 2024"The mission is built on a previous NASA rover concept, the [[Resource Prospector]], which had been cancelled in 2018."
— Wikipedia article "VIPER (rover)", revision 1355827528 of 2026-05-24T03:53:56Z, revision 1355827528"VOLATILES INVESTIGATING POLAR EXPLORATION ROVER (VIPER) DELIVERY"
— USAspending.gov, 80JSC020F0220; ASTROBOTIC TECHNOLOGY INC; start 2020-06-11; lifetime amount 314011569.0"NASA stated cost increases, delays to the launch date, and the risks of future cost growth as the reasons to stand down on the mission."
— NASA Ends VIPER Project, Continues Moon Exploration - NASA, 17 Jul 2024"In February 2025, NASA announced a new approach to potentially revive the VIPER mission through an industry partnership."
— Wikipedia article "VIPER (rover)", revision 1355827528 of 2026-05-24T03:53:56Z"The task order, called CS-7, has an award base to design the payload-specific accommodations and to demonstrate how Blue Origin's flight design will off-load the rover to the lunar surface."
— NASA Selects Blue Origin to Deliver VIPER Rover to Moon’s South Pole - NASA"NASA will make the decision to exercise that option after the execution and review of the base task and of Blue Origin's first flight of the Blue Moon MK1 lander."
— NASA Selects Blue Origin to Deliver VIPER Rover to Moon’s South Pole - NASA"The CLPS task order has a total potential value of $190 million."
— NASA Selects Blue Origin to Deliver VIPER Rover to Moon’s South Pole - NASA"COMMERCIAL LUNAR PAYLOAD SERVICES (CLPS) CONTRACT TASK ORDER CS-7 REVISION 3 TO ADD SCALPSS PAYLOAD REQUIREMENTS."
— USAspending.gov, award 80JSC025F7071, transaction P00003, 2026-05-18, change order 5100000.0; award signed 2025-09-16, obligated 55100000.0
On the Moon¶
Manifested for Mons Mouton, the same South Pole massif IM-2 aimed for, on Blue Origin's second MK1 lander. The delivery is an option that NASA has not yet exercised; it depends on Blue Origin's first MK1 flight (Blue Moon Pathfinder Mission 1). The rover has a 100-day science window that needs a landing by late 2027.
"VIPER and its instruments will be delivered to Mons Mouton by a Blue Origin Blue Moon MK-1 lander as part of task order CS-7"
— TO20A Science Payloads - NASA Science, editor's note"The rover has a targeted science window for its 100-day mission that requires a landing by late 2027."
— NASA Selects Blue Origin to Deliver VIPER Rover to Moon’s South Pole - NASA
FO's role¶
Grade: company-level. No FO flight of VIPER, its rover hardware or its instruments. The study's earlier traceback found none ('none-found'). This record changes the grade to company-level, as the study's earlier feeder-line map and the NIRVSS and TRIDENT records do: VIPER's project scientist and NIRVSS PI, Anthony Colaprete, is PI of FO's Nephelometer Experiment (TechPort 106600, a balloon-ready cloud instrument) and a co-investigator on FO's Fluidic Telescope (106725); TRIDENT's PI, Kris Zacny of Honeybee Robotics, is PI of FO's PlanetVac projects on Masten's lander (89413, 106599, 106671). Different technologies, so company-level, not related. FO's hazard-detection lidar for Astrobotic's Griffin (106719) was to land VIPER, but VIPER no longer rides on Griffin, and it is a lander link anyway. The study's remark, not the team's: VIPER's own mobility tests point to a gap that lunar-gravity flights address, since Earth tests with lunar-weight rovers can be overoptimistic.
FO flights: 0. No FO investment in VIPER found in public sources. FO's spending on the company-level projects is in FO records and is not VIPER's.
"No FO flight of VIPER or its instruments."
— earlier finding of this study (not a public source)"Company-level links: the Honeybee drill (see TRIDENT), and NIRVSS, whose PI"
— earlier finding of this study (not a public source)Data: name: Anthony Colaprete
— TechPort project 106600, contacts (role: Principal Investigator); title 'Nephelometer Experiment (NephEx)'"The balloon-ready instrument will consist of two COTS lasers"
— TechPort project 106600, description"Honeybee Robotics PlanetVac on Masten Lander"
— TechPort project 89413, title (PI Kris Zacny)"and precisely land Astrobotic's Griffin lunar lander and deploy NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER)"
— TechPort project 106719, description
Who built it¶
"NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley led the VIPER rover development and will lead its science investigations, and NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston provided rover engineering development for Ames."
— NASA Selects Blue Origin to Deliver VIPER Rover to Moon’s South Pole - NASA, 19 Sep 2025"Anthony Colaprete ARC Project Scientist"
— NTRS 20210015009, Table 6-1 (VIPER science plan, 2021)"Anthony Colaprete ARC NIRVSS PI"
— NTRS 20210015009, Table 6-2"Kris Zacny Honeybee Robotics TRIDENT PI"
— NTRS 20210015009, Table 6-2"Janine Captain KSC MSolo PI"
— NTRS 20210015009, Table 6-2"THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE A PROTOFLIGHT HARDWARE UNIT AND SPARE COMPONENTS FOR THE VIPER-NSS MISSION."
— USAspending.gov, 80ARC020C0011; LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION; amount 2893130.0
Moon Base need¶
"Both gaps ask for measurements to 1 m depth, in situ."
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: Architecture data gaps: all 25, Phase 1 table, VIPER row""There are no ground truth measurements that characterize shallow bulk water ice on the lunar"
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: DN-007 L: In situ measurements of the horizontal and vertical distribution, abundance, and physical makeup of shallow bulk water ice"the rover will sample lunar soil at different depths and temperatures, searching for water ice and other volatiles hidden beneath the surface"
— Moon Base Phases - NASA"help inform future landing sites for our astronauts"
— NASA Selects Blue Origin to Deliver VIPER Rover to Moon’s South Pole - NASA"| DN-007 L | Securing sites; ISRU systems |"
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: Moon Base technology and knowledge challenges, reverse index"| DN-013 L | Long-duration operations; securing sites |"
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: Moon Base technology and knowledge challenges, reverse index"Phase 1 "Now through 2028""
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: Moon Base phases
Open questions¶
- Will NASA exercise the CS-7 delivery option? It depends on Blue Origin's first MK1 flight, which has slipped to early 2027 at the soonest, while the team plans integration in January 2027.
- What VIPER costs from the revival to the end of the mission, beyond the CS-7 delivery: not in public sources.
- A May 2026 change order added 'SCALPSS payload requirements' to CS-7. Will a SCALPSS fly on Blue Moon Pathfinder Mission 2, and which version? NASA's pages don't list it; the study's manifest doesn't either.
- Was any VIPER hardware (wheels, mobility, drill handling) ever tested in reduced gravity in flight? The public papers show ground tests only (lunar-weight rovers, tilted rigs). Resource Prospector's 'microgravity simulators' are not described.
- Was the flight rover kept intact after the 2024 cancellation, or were parts removed and refitted? NASA planned to disassemble it; the April 2026 slides show the assembled rover, but what was taken apart is not in public sources.