NASA, as part of its Artemis campaign, has awarded US-based
Blue Origin, which operates the sub-orbital New Shepard rocket and the heavy-lift New Glenn rocket, a CLPS (commercial lunar payload services) task order with an option to deliver a rover to the Moon’s South Pole region. NASA’s VIPER (volatiles investigating polar exploration rover) will search for life-supporting resources, such as ice, on the lunar surface and collect science data to support future exploration at the Moon and Mars.
Sean Duffy, NASA’s acting administrator, said: “NASA is leading the world in exploring more of the Moon than ever before, and this delivery is just one of many ways we are leveraging US industry to support a long-term American presence on the lunar surface. Our rover will explore the extreme environment of the lunar South Pole, travelling to small, permanently shadowed regions to help inform future landing sites for our astronauts and better understand the Moon’s environment.”
The CLPS task order has a total potential value of $190 million and is the second CLPS lunar delivery awarded to Blue Origin. The company’s first delivery — using its Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) robotic lander — is scheduled for launch later this year, when it will deliver NASA’s ‘Stereo Cameras for Lunar-Plume Surface Studies’ and ‘Laser Retroreflective Array’ payloads to the Moon’s South Pole region. With this new award, Blue Origin will deliver VIPER to the lunar surface in late 2027, using a second Blue Moon MK1 lander, which is in production.
Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA headquarters in Washington, said: “NASA is committed to studying and exploring the Moon, including learning more about water on the lunar surface, to help determine how we can harness local resources for future human exploration. We have been looking for creative, cost-effective approaches to accomplish these exploration goals, and this private sector-developed landing capability enables this delivery and focuses our investments accordingly.”
Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration, Science Mission Directorate, at NASA’s headquarters, added: “The search for lunar volatiles plays a key role in NASA’s exploration of the Moon, with important implications for both science and human missions under Artemis. This delivery could show us where ice is most likely to be found and easiest to access, as a future resource for humans; and by studying these sources of lunar water, we also gain valuable insight into the distribution and origin of volatiles across the solar system, helping us better understand the processes that have shaped our space environment and how our inner solar system has evolved.”