The head of the planetary division of the department, Lori Glaze, noted that this region for landing was not only the most interesting from the point of view of science, but also the most convenient from the point of view of maintaining communication with the Earth
MOSCOW, September 20. /TASS/. The VIPER lunar rover, which will be sent to the Earth's natural satellite at the end of 2023 as part of the Artemis program, will land near the western edge of the Nobile crater. This was announced on Monday at a press conference at NASA headquarters by the head of the planetary division of the department, Lori Glaze.
"We considered four different points for landing the rover in the vicinity of the south pole of the Moon. The most interesting of them was the western part of the Nobile crater. This region is one of the coldest regions of the Solar System. The rover will help us understand whether water is present in permanently shaded craters on the surface of the moon," said Glaze.
According to her, this region for landing turned out to be not only the most interesting from the point of view of science, but also the most convenient from the point of view of maintaining communication with the Earth, access to sunlight to recharge the batteries of the lunar rover, as well as safe for traveling on the surface of the Moon.
According to the mission participants, VIPER will study at least six different regions of the Nobile crater, where it will conduct spectrometric studies and take samples of rocks and ice from a great depth. The information received by him will help, among other things, to choose the place of the future landing of astronauts on the surface of the Moon and to ensure the vital activity of the lunar base. This information can also be used to produce oxygen and hydrogen as rocket fuel.
The duration of the mission will be 100 days. During this time, VIPER will travel several kilometers and study various soil samples with four devices that it is equipped with. A drill capable of penetrating to a depth of up to a meter will also be installed on the device. According to NASA's current plans, the device will be delivered to the surface of the Moon by Astrobotic at the end of 2023.
In the spring of 2019, NASA announced the project of the Artemis lunar program, which will consist of three stages. The first of them provides for an unmanned flight of the Orion spacecraft installed on the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket around the Moon and its return to Earth. The second stage is a flyby of a natural satellite of the Earth with a crew on board. At the third stage of the mission, NASA expects to land astronauts on the Moon in 2024 and send them to Mars approximately in the mid-2030s.