In alignment with its mission to develop a comprehensive and sustainable lunar exploration initiative that benefits humanity, NASA has released a Request for Information (RFI) on Friday. The purpose of this RFI is to solicit interest from U.S.-based companies and academic institutions in undertaking a mission that employs the agency’s VIPER Moon rover.
The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, is engineered to identify and chart the locations and concentrations of potential extraterrestrial resources, such as ice, at the lunar South Pole. Although NASA declared on July 17 its intention to cease the VIPER program and explore alternative means to confirm the presence of frozen water at the Moon’s South Pole, the agency is open to providing the VIPER rover to a willing partner.
From July 17 to August 1, NASA accepted initial expressions of interest from the broader community for utilizing the current VIPER rover system. This newly issued RFI aims to gather detailed information on how interested parties would employ VIPER at minimal or no expense to the government. The RFI is specifically open to U.S. organizations and industries, while NASA plans to investigate interest from international entities through separate avenues.
“NASA expresses its gratitude to everyone who has shown interest in using VIPER and is eager to learn more about how potential collaborators envision achieving NASA’s scientific and exploratory objectives with the rover,” stated Nicola Fox, Associate Administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. “Our goal is to maximize the engineering, technology, and expertise cultivated through this project to further our scientific understanding of the Moon. By offering partnership opportunities on VIPER, we can achieve this without affecting our future schedule of commercial lunar deliveries, thereby continuing lunar science and exploration for the benefit of all.”
Future deliveries under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program and instruments on crewed lunar missions will enhance the agency’s evaluation of volatiles across the South Pole region of the Moon.
The Request for Information is available online and will remain open for responses until 11:59 p.m. EDT on Monday, September 2.
For additional details about VIPER, visit:
