New VIPER Lunar Rover to Map Water Ice on the Moon (solar)

[rjshae]

NASA article on the Viper rover, Oct. 25, 2019.

All I can say is, it's about time.

No mention of a power source, but it appears to have solar panels. Probably rechargable batteries then, if it's going to explore in the darkness.

[Universe93B]

I wondered that also why they didn't do this sooner. Was NASA waiting for Israel or India's moon rover to be successful first, perhaps?

[rjshae]

Originally Posted by HouseBuilder328

I wondered that also why they didn't do this sooner. Was NASA waiting for Israel or India's moon rover to be successful first, perhaps?

Maybe there wasn't enough political support? I don't know.

[Dane_in_LA]

Originally Posted by rjshae

Maybe there wasn't enough political support? I don't know.

Getting NASA to award contracts outside companies who can afford to buy Congresspeople (looking at you, Boeing) has been a long, hard slog.

But the advantages of using commercial services are now becoming too obvious to overlook. Work on this probe and a slew of others are awarded as fixed-price contracts under the Commercial Lunar Payload Program - instead of the traditional cost-plus contract where the selected vendor builds the probe, documents the costs, and adds a percentage.