Editor’s Note: On June 9, this advisory was updated to change the announcement and media teleconference date and time to 11 a.m. EDT Thursday, June 11.
NASA will announce the commercial provider selected to deliver NASA’s new water-hunting mobile robot, the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER), to the South Pole of the Moon during a media teleconference at 2:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday, June 10.
As the first resource-mapping mission on the surface of another world, VIPER will help pave the way for a new era of human missions to the lunar surface and will bring NASA a step closer to developing a sustainable, long-term robotic and human presence on the Moon as part of the Artemis program.
Members of the media may request to join the teleconference by emailing their name, affiliation, and phone number to Alison Hawkes at alison.hawkes@nasa.gov or Rachel Kraft at rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov by 12:30 p.m. June 10.
The teleconference audio will stream live at:
Supporting materials also will be available at nasa.gov/live.
VIPER’s delivery to the Moon is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, an innovative, service-based, competitive acquisition approach that enables rapid, affordable, and frequent access to the lunar surface via a growing market of American commercial providers. The selected company will be responsible for end-to-end services for delivery of VIPER, including integration with its lander, launch from Earth, and landing in a polar region on the Moon in late 2023VIPER’s delivery to the Moon is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, which will leverage the capabilities of commercial industry to send scientific instruments and technology demonstrations to the Moon quickly. The selected company will be responsible for end-to-end services for delivery of VIPER, including integration with its lander, launch from Earth, and landing in a polar region on the Moon in late 2023.
For more information about NASA’s VIPER mission, visit:
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Grey Hautaluoma / Josh Handal
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0668 / 202-358-2307
grey.hautaluoma-1@nasa.gov / joshua.a.handal@nasa.gov
Alison Hawkes
Ames Research Center, California’s Silicon Valley
650-604-4789
alison.hawkes@nasa.gov
Jenny Knotts / Rachel Kraft
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
norma.j.knotts@nasa.gov / rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov