The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) Mission is expected to arrive at the Moon in November 2023, with the overall science objectives of: 1) Characterizing the distribution and physical state of lunar polar water and other volatiles in lunar cold traps and regolith to understand their origin; and 2) Providing the data and resource maps necessary for NASA to evaluate the potential of In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) from the lunar polar regions.
VIPER is expected to be a ~90-day mission to the lunar south polar region and will have the capability to operate for up to 10.5 hours in a permanently shadowed region.
This program element solicits proposals for adding Co-Investigators to the VIPER team. This is different than Participating Scientist programs in that Co-Is are being brought on board early in the mission's development and expected to be fully engaged in all aspects of development and operations alongside the current science team members. The goals of the program are to: a) enhance the scientific return from the VIPER mission by broadening participation in the mission and b) augment the existing VIPER science team (ST) to include new members conducting investigations that broaden and/or complement the already funded Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-Investigator (Co-I)-led investigations, thus maximizing the contribution of VIPER to the future exploration and scientific understanding of the Moon. Because the intention is to enhance and broaden the scientific return, investigations submitted by current VIPER Instrument PIs and Science and Instrument Co-Is will not be considered.
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