The new NASA VIPER lunar rover to the test in the sand

The trial version of NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, lifts deep-sinking sand-like material as it transits NASA Glenn's Simulated Lunar Operations Laboratory, or SLOPE bed. In November 2021, the latest test rover visited SLOPE to complete the next iteration of mobility tests, a critical step in ensuring the rover is ready for its 2023 mission to the Moon's South Pole to get a close-up view of the location and concentration of ice and other resources.

The latest prototype of the rover, known as the Moon Gravitation Representative Unit 3, or MGRU3, has the same wheel design and base dimensions as the rover that will go on the moon. It also has flight design engines, reducers and joints, as well as the latest version of flight software.



This test was the third mobility assessment conducted by VIPER at SLOPE to collect critical data on software mobility controls, on-board navigation system and mobility performance on hazards and loose ground. For over two weeks, the team used the facility's unique capabilities to drive MGRU3 over various obstacles and steep slopes. The data collected at Glenn, along with a concurrent test at the ProtoInnovations laboratory in Pittsburgh, will help inform rover operations and science teams on route planning.

Later this spring, an even more flight-like rover will return to SLOPE for verification and validation testing. It is comparable to the final exam in which the rover will have to demonstrate that it is able to meet the design requirements with its hardware, software and electronics. VIPER will reach the surface of the moon in late 2023, carried by Astrobotic’s Griffin lander as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.