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A team of engineers prepares to integrate TRIDENT \u2013 short for The Regolith Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain \u2013 into the belly of NASA\u2019s first robotic Moon rover,\u00a0VIPER\u00a0(Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover).\u00a0<\/p>\n
TRIDENT, designed and developed by engineers at Honeybee Robotics in Altadena, California, is the fourth and final science instrument to be installed into VIPER. NASA engineers have already successfully integrated VIPER\u2019s three other science instruments into the rover. These include: the\u00a0MSOLO\u00a0(Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations),\u00a0NIRVSS\u00a0(Near-Infrared Volatiles Spectrometer System), and\u00a0NSS\u00a0(Neutron Spectrometer System).\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shortly after TRIDENT was integrated in the clean room at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston, the team also successfully tested its ability to power on, release the locks that hold the drill in place during launch, extend to its full depth of more than three feet (one meter), perform percussive drilling, and return to its stowed position inside the rover.<\/p>\n
TRIDENT will dig up soil from below the lunar surface using a rotary percussive drill \u2013 meaning it both spins to cut into the ground and hammers to fragment hard material for more energy-efficient drilling. In addition to being able to measure the strength and compactedness of the lunar soil, the drill also carries a temperature sensor to take readings below the surface.\u00a0VIPER will launch to the Moon aboard Astrobotic\u2019s Griffin lunar lander on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket as part of NASA\u2019s\u202fCommercial Lunar Payload Services\u00a0initiative. It will reach its destination at Mons Mouton near the Moon\u2019s South Pole. Scientists will work with these four instruments to better understand the origin of water and other resources on the Moon, which could support human exploration as part of NASA\u2019s\u202fArtemis\u202fcampaign.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n