NASA is inviting U.S. companies to partner with the agency to land and operate its VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) mission on the Moon. This partnership is part of NASA’s Artemis campaign and aims to combine public and private efforts to search for water ice and collect important science data on the lunar surface. NASA hopes to advance commercial lunar landing technologies through this collaboration.
About the VIPER Partnership Opportunity
NASA released an Announcement for Partnership Proposal asking U.S. companies to submit ideas on how they can help land and operate the VIPER rover on the Moon. The deadline for proposals is Monday, March 3, 2025. After reviewing submissions, NASA will ask selected candidates to provide more detailed plans. The agency plans to decide on the partnership this summer.
The VIPER mission’s instruments will demonstrate how U.S. industry can search for ice on the Moon and gather valuable data. NASA will provide the rover “as-is,” while the partner must handle its integration, safe landing, and science operations on the lunar surface.
Details of the Partnership
This partnership will operate under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, where both NASA and the partner contribute technology, hardware, or services. The selected partner cannot take apart the rover or use its instruments separately from the mission. NASA prefers proposals that promise to share mission data openly with the public.
Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration, emphasized that this is a chance for companies to grow their lunar landing and surface operation abilities while adding their own science goals. NASA is eager to work with U.S. industry to explore the Moon’s volatile environment.
Importance of the VIPER Mission
The Moon is key to understanding the solar system and even distant exoplanets. Studying lunar ice not only helps plan future human missions but also reveals how the Moon formed and evolved over billions of years. Finding and analyzing ice is essential for supporting astronauts and developing lunar resources.
NASA’s call for partnerships to land and operate the VIPER rover opens exciting opportunities for U.S. companies to advance space exploration technologies and lunar science. This collaboration supports the Artemis campaign’s goal to explore and utilize the Moon while preparing for future missions to Mars and beyond. Interested parties should submit proposals by March 3 to be part of this groundbreaking mission.
