Blue Origin has secured a significant new contract from NASA under its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. This agreement tasks Blue Origin with delivering the VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) to the Moon’s South Pole. After facing setbacks due to budget issues in 2024, the VIPER mission is now back on track, targeting a late 2027 launch aboard Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 lander. The primary goal of this expedition is to locate crucial ice resources, essential for sustaining future human lunar exploration efforts.
Contract and Mission Plan
A NASA news release confirms that the CLPS task order, officially named CS-7, is valued at up to $190 million. The initial phase of this contract, already in progress, focuses on designing appropriate payload accommodations and ensuring the rover’s smooth unloading process. Following this, NASA will determine the specifics of the delivery and surface deployment. Under the terms of the agreement, Blue Origin is responsible for the overall mission architecture, seamless payload integration, and the complex lunar landing operations. NASA, however, will maintain control over the rover’s movements and provide scientific oversight throughout the entire mission.
Science Goals
Over an estimated 100 Earth days, VIPER will meticulously explore permanently shadowed craters near the Moon’s South Pole. Equipped with its advanced TRIDENT tool, the rover will drill up to one meter into the lunar surface to search for and map water ice deposits. These invaluable volatiles could serve multiple purposes for future lunar residents, including providing drinking water, a source of breathable oxygen, and even propellant for rockets. This updated mission plan comes after the original deployment with Astrobotic’s Griffin lander was canceled due to unforeseen schedule and cost challenges.