VIPER

Overview

Destination: Lunar Orbit
Mission: Lunar Exploration

Lunar Orbit Launch Complex 39A Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Unknown FH - Landing Zone 2 Unknown FH - Landing Zone 1 Unknown FH - Unknown

NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, is a mobile robot that will go to the South Pole of the Moon to get a close-up view of the location and concentration of water ice that could eventually be harvested to sustain human exploration on the Moon, Mars — and beyond. VIPER represents the first resource mapping mission on another celestial body.

Updates

spacevogel • July 18, 2022, 8:56 p.m.

Mission delayed due to NASA's request for additional lander tests


Falcon Heavy

Family: Falcon
Configuration: Heavy

The Falcon Heavy is a variant of the Falcon 9 full thrust launch vehicle and consists of a standard Falcon 9 rocket core, with two additional boosters derived from the Falcon 9 first stage.

See Falcon Details
Specifications
  • Stages
    3
  • Length
    70.0 m
  • Diameter
    12.2 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
    1400 T
  • Thrust
    22819 kN
Family
  • Name
    Falcon Heavy
  • Family
    Falcon
  • Variant
    Heavy
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Falcon Heavy
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $90000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    63800 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    26700 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Booster Info


Unknown FH


Type: Strap-On Booster
Flight Proven: No

Landing Information

the sidebooster will attempt to land at the launch site after launch.

Landing Attempt Confirmed

Unknown FH


Type: Strap-On Booster
Flight Proven: No

Landing Information

the sidebooster will attempt to land at the launch site after launch.

Landing Attempt Confirmed

Unknown FH


Type: Core
Flight Proven: No

Landing Information

The center core will attempt to land on an ASDS after launch.

Landing Attempt Confirmed

SpaceX

Circle Image
CEO: Elon Musk Founded: 2002 Successes: 273 Failures: 10 Pending: 131

Agency Type: Commercial

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.

INFO WIKI

Related News

SpaceNews

NASA delays VIPER lunar rover launch by a year

NASA has delayed the launch of an ice-prospecting lunar rover by a year to perform more testing of its commercial lander, the agency announced July 18.

NASA

El rover del programa Artemis de la NASA aterrizará cerca de la región Nobile en el polo sur de la Luna

En 2023, el Vehículo de exploración polar para investigación de volátiles (VIPER, por sus siglas en español) de la NASA aterrizará cerca del borde occidental del cráter Nobile en el polo sur de la Luna para mapear y explorar la superficie …

NASA

NASA’s Artemis Rover to Land Near Nobile Region of Moon’s South Pole

In 2023, NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) will land near the western edge of the Nobile Crater at the Moon’s South Pole to map and explore the region’s surface and subsurface for water and other resources.

SpaceNews

NASA picks landing site for VIPER lunar rover

NASA has selected a crater near the south pole of the moon as the landing site for a robotic rover to search for water ice that could be a resource for future human expeditions.

NASA Spaceflight

NASA VIPER rover and Astrobotic Griffin lander select moon landing site for 2023

The NASA VIPER rover – a precursor mission to human landings in the south polar region of the Moon, and a mission started in 2019 under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program – has had its landing site selected for its 2023 mission.…

Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Launch Complex 39A


Falcon 9
Success
14 hours, 3 minutes ago
Starlink Group 6-19
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 22 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Qased
Success
3 days, 10 hours ago
Noor-3
Launch Platform - Shahrud Missile Test Site, Islamic Republic of Iran

Third flight of the Iranian Qased small launch vehicle. Delivered two objects in a 450 km Earth Orbit, one of which is the Noor-3 military satellite.


Long March 4C
Success
3 days, 19 hours ago
Yaogan 33-04
Launch Area 4 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

The Yaogan 33-04 is a Chinese military “remote sensing” satellite of unknown purpose.


Falcon 9
Success
5 days, 7 hours ago
Starlink Group 7-3
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
6 days, 12 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-18
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 22 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Ceres-1
Failure
1 week, 2 days ago
Jilin-1 High Resolution 04B
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

New high resolution Earth observation satellite for the Jilin-1 commercial Earth observation satellites constellation.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
Starlink Group 6-17
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 22 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Electron
Failure
1 week, 4 days ago
We Will Never Desert You (Capella Acadia 2)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Onenui Station, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Payload consists of a single SAR Earth-imaging Acadia satellite, a new generation satellite designed, manufactured, and operated by Capella Space.


Long March 2D
Success
1 week, 6 days ago
Yaogan 39 Group 02
Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Chinese reconnaissance satellites.


Falcon 9
Success
2 weeks ago
Starlink Group 6-16
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.