NASA has invited people to send their names to the surface of the Moon aboard the agency’s first robotic lunar rover VIPER – short for Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover.
Under the ‘Send Your Name with VIPER,’ which will last till 11.59 pm EST on March 15, one can send names on this link – nasa.gov/send-your-name-with-viper. Participants can also create and download a virtual souvenir – a boarding pass to the VIPER mission featuring their name – to commemorate the experience. Once collected, the agency will take the names and attach them to the rover.
In its mission to the lunar South Pole, the rover will study the Moon’s water and understand the environment where it plans to land the first woman and first person of color under its Artemis program.
“With VIPER, we are going to study and explore parts of the Moon’s surface no one has ever been to before – and with this campaign, we are inviting the world to be part of that risky yet rewarding journey,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, in a press statement. “Just think: Our names will ride along as VIPER navigates across the rugged terrain of the lunar South Pole and gathers valuable data that will help us better understand the history of the Moon and the environment where we plan to send Artemis astronauts.”
“Our VIPER is a game-changer,” said Daniel Andrews, VIPER’s project manager at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, in a press statement. “It’s the first mission of its kind, expanding our understanding of where lunar resources could be harvested to support a long-term human presence on the Moon.”
In late 2024, Astrobotic Technologies’ Griffin Mission One is scheduled to deliver VIPER to the lunar surface after launching aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Once there, VIPER will rely on its solar panels and batteries for its roughly 100-day mission to survive extreme temperatures and challenging lighting conditions, while powering a suite of science instruments designed to gather data about the characteristics and concentrations of lunar ice and other possible resources.
Earlier too, NASA had enabled people to send their names to ride along the Artemis I, several Mars spacecraft, and the upcoming Europa Clipper mission.
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First uploaded on: 11-01-2024 at 19:23 IST
Shambhu Kumar is a science communicator, making complex scientific topics accessible to all. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
