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NASA’s VIPER Gets Its Head and Neck
Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas

In this image from Feb. 12, 2024, engineers lift a mast into place on NASA's VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) robotic moon rover. VIPER's mast and the suite of instruments affixed to it look a lot like the rover's "neck" and "head." 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 four science payloads, to scout the lunar south pole. During its approximately 100-day mission, VIPER seeks to better understand the origin of water and other resources on the moon, as well as the where NASA plans to send astronauts as part of the Artemis campaign.

Provided by NASA

Citation: NASA's VIPER moon rover gets its head and neck (2024, April 16) retrieved 16 April 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2024-04-nasa-viper-moon-rover-neck.html
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Los Angeles CA (SPX) Apr 16, 2024
From the early days of space exploration, objects in orbit have followed the predictable trajectories described by Johannes Kepler's laws. These paths, while historically reliable, no longer meet the strategic demands of today's complex and contested Space Area of Operations (AOR). The need for agility and unpredictability in satellite movements has become paramount as space becomes a more conte
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Los Angeles CA (SPX) Apr 15, 2024
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London, UK (SPX) Apr 16, 2024
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Washington (AFP) April 15, 2024
An object that crashed from the sky into an American man's home was a hunk of debris ejected from the International Space Station, NASA confirmed Monday. The strange tale came to light last month when Alejandro Otero of Naples, Florida posted on X that a metallic item "tore through the roof and went (through) 2 floors" of his house, almost striking his son, on March 8. It occurred at a t
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Paris, France (SPX) Apr 12, 2024
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Sydney, Australia (SPX) Apr 11, 2024
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Los Angeles CA (SPX) Apr 15, 2024
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Sydney, Australia (SPX) Apr 16, 2024
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) has been chosen by the UK Space Agency (UKSA) and Australian Space Agency (ASA) to spearhead AquaWatch-AUK, a collaborative water-focused space initiative. AquaWatch-AUK consists of a set of activities designed to enhance water quality monitoring and facilitate better management of vital water resources. This initiative, part of the International Bila
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