NASA will host a media teleconference Monday, Sept. 20, at 4 p.m. EDT, to announce the lunar landing site for the agencys Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER). The rover will be delivered to the Moon's surface in late 2023 under the Artemis program and part of the agencys Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.
VIPER is the first resource-mapping mission on the surface of another celestial body. While on the Moon, VIPER will get a close-up view of the location and concentration of ice and other resources, assisting in the advancement of science and human exploration as part of Artemis missions.
Scientists and mission operators will leverage near real-time Earth-to-Moon communications and work together to drive the rover along an unexplored region of the Moons South Pole.
Audio of the teleconference will stream live online at:
Briefing participants are:
- Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Science Division, NASA Headquarters
- Daniel Andrews, VIPER project manager, NASA's Ames Research Center
- Anthony Colaprete, VIPER lead project scientist, Ames
- Darlene Lim, VIPER deputy lead project scientist, Ames
- Darryl Gaines, deputy manager, NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services, NASA's Johnson Space Center
