While a number of rovers have cruised around Mars, NASA has never had one remotely piloted Mond-Rover in action. With the construction of one Lunar-Rover the US space agency has now started.
The “Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover“, kurz Viperis to search for frozen water on the lunar surface and carry out further scientific experiments.
The chassis of the vehicle has already been completed, NASA explains in one blog entry. Now the first components can be installed. Before the rover is ready for use, it still has to extensive stress tests be subjected to.
Landing near the lunar south pole
It is planned that the Viper rover in Nobile Crater lands. Located near the South Pole, this crater is thought to have been formed by the moon colliding with another celestial body.
The region around the crater is one of the coldest areas on the moon, which until now could only be explored from afar. NASA hopes that Viper will verify the existence of frozen water just beneath the lunar surface.
In order to find possible water deposits, Viper will enter a neutron spectrometer to use. If he has found an area where water is suspected, he can drill up to a meter deep. That’s what the Rover owns 3 different drills, which are selected depending on the surface. The molecular composition Viper can then analyze the samples taken.
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Ambitious schedule
With sufficient water resources could oxygen for a manned station on the moon. In addition, you could Fuel for hydrogen tanks produce. The occurrences were already confirmed in 2009, after a probe landed at the south pole of the moon.
Already at 10. November 2024 the Viper rover is supposed to touch down on the lunar surface. It remains to be seen whether this ambitious schedule can be met. The Time schedule for the moon landing of the rover had to be adjusted several times.
Viper is about the size of a golf cart, 450 Kilograms heavy and runs on solar power. Unlike a Mars rover, Viper can travel from Earth directly remote controlled since the moon is only about 300,000 kilometers away.
