VIPER NASA Abbreviation

Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover

VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) is a NASA (Ames Research Center) lunar rover that is scheduled to arrive on the Moon's surface in November 2023. The rover's mission will include studying the distribution and concentration of water ice in permanently shadowed parts of the lunar south pole region in order to search for lunar resources. The project is based on a prior NASA rover idea known as Resource Prospector, which was scrapped in 2018.