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NASA\u2019s\u00a0VIPER\u00a0\u2013 short for the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover \u2013 now stands taller and more capable than ever. And that\u2019s thanks to its mast.<\/p>\n
VIPER\u2019s mast, and the suite of instruments affixed to it, looks a lot like the rover\u2019s \u201cneck\u201d and \u201chead.\u201d The mast instruments are designed to help the team of rover drivers and real-time scientists send commands and receive data while the rover navigates around hazardous crater slopes, boulders, and places that risk communications blackouts. The team will use these instruments, along with\u00a0four science payloads,\u00a0to scout the lunar South Pole. During its approximately 100-day mission, VIPER seeks to better understand\u00a0the origin of water and other resources on the Moon,\u00a0as well as the extreme environment where NASA plans to send astronauts as part of the\u202fArtemis\u202fcampaign.<\/p>\n
The tip of VIPER\u2019s mast stands approximately eight feet (2.5 meters) above its wheel rims and is equipped with a pair of stereo navigation cameras, a pair of powerful LED headlights, as well as a\u00a0low- and high-gain antenna to transmit data to and receive data from the Deep Space Network (DSN) antennas on Earth.<\/p>\n
The stereo navigation cameras \u2013 the \u201ceyes\u201d of the rover \u2013 are mounted to a part of the mast that gimbals, allowing the team to pan them as much as 400 degrees around and tilt them up and down as much\u00a0as 75 degrees. The VIPER team will use the navigation cameras to take sweeping panoramas of the rover\u2019s surroundings and images to detect and further study surface features such as rocks and craters as small as four inches (10 cm) in diameter \u2013 or about the length of a pencil \u2013 from as far as 50 feet (15 meters) away. And because the navigation cameras are mounted up high, it gives the VIPER team a near human-like perspective as the rover explores areas of scientific interest around the Moon\u2019s South Pole.<\/p>\n
Due to the extremes of light and darkness found on the Moon, VIPER will be the first planetary\u00a0rover to have headlights. The headlights will cast a narrow, long-distance beam \u2013 much like a car\u2019s high beams \u2013 to help the team reveal obstacles or interesting terrain features that would otherwise stay hidden in the shadows. Positioned next to the rover\u2019s two navigation cameras, the lights feature arrays of blue LEDs that the rover navigation team determined would provide the best visibility given the challenging lighting conditions on the Moon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In order to transmit large amounts of data across the 240,000 miles (384,000 km) that separate Earth and the Moon,\u00a0VIPER has a gimballing precision-pointed, high-gain antenna\u00a0that will send information along a very focused, narrow beam. Its low-gain antenna also will send data but using radio waves at a much lower data rate. The ability for the antennas to maintain the correct orientation, even while driving, serves a critical function: without it, the rover cannot receive commands while in motion on the Moon and cannot transmit any of its data back to Earth for scientists to achieve their mission goals. All that data is then transferred from the DSN to the Multi-Mission Operations and Control Center at NASA\u2019s Ames Research Center in California\u2019s Silicon Valley, where rover operations are based.<\/p>\n
Prior to installation on the rover, engineers put the mast through a variety of testing. This included time in a thermal vacuum chamber to verify the white coating surrounding the mast insulates as intended. After the mast\u2019s integration in the clean room at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston, the team also successfully performed check-outs of its components and for the first time sent data through the rover using its antennas.<\/p>\n
VIPER is part of the Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program and is managed by the Planetary Science Division of NASA\u2019s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.\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.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n