{"id":287833,"date":"2025-09-20T06:24:02","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T20:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?guid=2478ec6de90ce32b0241aca630fa7289"},"modified":"2025-09-20T06:24:02","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T20:24:02","slug":"nasa-selects-blue-origin-to-deliver-viper-rover-to-moons-south-pole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=287833","title":{"rendered":"NASA Selects Blue Origin to Deliver VIPER Rover to Moon\u2019s South Pole"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This artist\u2019s concept shows Blue Origin\u2019s Blue Moon Mark 1 lander and NASA\u2019s VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) on the lunar surface.<\/div>\n
Credit: Courtesy of Blue Origin<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

As part of the agency\u2019s Artemis campaign, NASA has awarded Blue Origin of Kent, Washington, a CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) task order with an option to deliver a rover to the Moon\u2019s South Pole region. NASA\u2019s VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) will search for volatile resources, such as ice, on the lunar surface and collect science data to support future exploration at the Moon and Mars.<\/p>\n

\u201cNASA is leading the world in exploring more of the Moon than ever before, and this delivery is just one of many ways we\u2019re leveraging U.S. industry to support a long-term American presence on the lunar surface,\u201d said acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy. \u201cOur rover will explore the extreme environment of the lunar South Pole, traveling to small, permanently shadowed regions to help inform future landing sites for our astronauts and better understand the Moon\u2019s environment \u2013 important insights for sustaining humans over longer missions, as America leads our future in space.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CLPS task order has a total potential value of $190 million. This is the second CLPS lunar delivery awarded to Blue Origin. Their first delivery \u2013 using their Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) robotic lander \u2013 is targeted for launch later this year to deliver NASA\u2019s Stereo Cameras for Lunar-Plume Surface Studies<\/a> and Laser Retroreflective Array<\/a> payloads to the Moon\u2019s South Pole region.<\/p>\n

With this new award, Blue Origin will deliver VIPER to the lunar surface in late 2027, using a second Blue Moon MK1 lander, which is in production. NASA previously canceled<\/a> the VIPER project and has since explored alternative approaches<\/a> to achieve the agency\u2019s goals of mapping potential off-planet resources, like water.<\/p>\n

\u201cNASA is committed to studying and exploring the Moon, including learning more about water on the lunar surface, to help determine how we can harness local resources for future human exploration,\u201d said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. \u201cWe\u2019ve been looking for creative, cost-effective approaches to accomplish these exploration goals. This private sector-developed landing capability enables this delivery and focuses our investments accordingly \u2013 supporting American leadership in space and ensuring our long-term exploration is robust and affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The task order, called CS-7, has an award base to design the payload-specific accommodations and to demonstrate how Blue Origin\u2019s flight design will off-load the rover to the lunar surface. There is an option on the contract to deliver and safely deploy the rover to the Moon\u2019s surface. NASA will make the decision to exercise that option after the execution and review of the base task and of Blue Origin\u2019s first flight of the Blue Moon MK1 lander. This unique approach will reduce the agency\u2019s cost and technical risk. The rover has a targeted science window for its 100-day mission that requires a landing by late 2027.<\/p>\n

Blue Origin is responsible for the complete landing mission architecture and will conduct design, analysis, and testing of a large lunar lander capable of safely delivering the lunar volatiles science rover to the Moon. Blue Origin also will handle end-to-end payload integration, planning and support, and post-landing payload deployment activities. NASA will conduct rover operations and science planning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe search for lunar volatiles plays a key role in NASA\u2019s exploration of the Moon, with important implications for both science and human missions under Artemis,\u201d said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters. \u201cThis delivery could show us where ice is most likely to be found and easiest to access, as a future resource for humans. And by studying these sources of lunar water, we also gain valuable insight into the distribution and origin of volatiles across the solar system, helping us better understand the processes that have shaped our space environment and how our inner solar system has evolved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through CLPS, American companies continue to demonstrate leadership in commercial space advancing capabilities and accomplishing NASA\u2019s goal for a commercial lunar economy. NASA’s Ames Research Center in California\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

To learn more about CLPS and Artemis, visit:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/clps<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

-end-<\/p>\n

Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n

Kenna Pell \/ Nilufar Ramji
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
kenna.m.pell@nasa.gov<\/a> \/ nilufar.ramji@nasa.gov<\/a>  <\/p>\n

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