Though it isn't your new car sale, it sure is interesting. You might even call it a performance car, but in a different sort of performance. Nasa is selling a moon rover that never actually made it to the moon. In a somewhat confusing chain of events, NASA has pivoted on some of its plans and handed a major project over to Pennsylvania-based firm Astrobotic. Thus, the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) will go up for sale.
This is no NASA-inspired Porsche, either, this is the real deal. NASA built the Robotic Rover with the objective to "map the location of water ice and other potential resources," and by location, we mean Mons Mouton on the Earth's Moon.
The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER)
There have been a few cars that look like they came from a NASA lab, but this moon rover actually did. According to The Economist, the VIPER was made to search for ice on the moon's South Pole. The ice is important because it could help researchers figure out how Earth got its own water supply. You know, important stuff.
"NASA's Artemis lunar rover, the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, will explore the relatively nearby but extreme environment of the Moon in search of ice and other potential resources. This mobile robot will land at the South Pole of the Moon in late 2024 on a 100-day mission."
NASA
However, back in July, Nasa decided it no longer wanted the VIPER to go look for ice. They offered the contract to commercial companies instead, hoping for a different ice-hunting-machine to come to fruition. Benjamin Fernando, a planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins University, said, "It's all a bit weird." But, as they say, the show must go on. NASA says, "The critical information it provides will teach us about the origin and distribution of water on the Moon and help determine how we can harvest the Moon's resources for future human space exploration."
The VIPER is around the same size of the quirky-but-fun Fiat 500, so it would easily fit in your garage. It has already been built and is going through the final phases of testing NASA's Johnson Space Centre in Houston.
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Finding Ice On The Moon
VIPER has a few important parts. One of the main features is a drill. Obviously, one way to search for ice is to dig into the surface of the moon to see what's going on down there. VIPER would drill into the craters on the South Pole of the moon since this area doesn't get any sunlight. If there was ice, it would be here.
NASA says the craters in this area stay below 160 degrees C, and in previous missions, spacecraft have seen what looks like ice in the area. If the VIPER was able to find proof of the ice, future missions could extract it and split off the hydrogen atoms to make rocket fuel. In the long run, this could be a means of refueling on the moon, so missions could go even further into space.
Regardless, the cost of the VIPER project was over $430 million so far. That's high above the initial estimation of $250, so now, it is up for sale.
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Would You Like A $450M Robot?
NASA thinks another commercial company could take over VIPER and finish the final testing. You'd still have to land it on the moon and perform the mission after that, and you'd have to share the findings. However, you could use this to further your own space missions down the line.
The space agency isn't a stranger to new partnerships, like that time NASA developed brakes in collaboration with the company Orbis, but this is certainly different. There are a few companies in the running already, so if you are looking for a bargain on a moon rover, don't wait too long. NASA will probably cut you a deal, too. Like the clearance rack in a moon rover shop, these deals won't last.
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