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3h ago

NASA Taps Blue Origin to Potentially Deliver Revived VIPER Rover Under $190 Million CLPS Award

Delivery becomes possible only after a successful MK1 landing followed by a completed payload‑accommodations review.

Artist’s concept of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 lander with NASA’s VIPER rover on the Moon.

Overview

  • The CS-7 task order includes a base phase to design VIPER-specific accommodations and demonstrate off-loading, with a separate option for delivery that NASA will consider after the base work and MK1 flight are evaluated.
  • NASA is targeting a late 2027 south pole landing using a second Blue Moon MK1 lander, contingent on the success of Blue Origin’s first MK1 mission expected later this year.
  • Blue Origin is responsible for the landing mission architecture, end-to-end payload integration, and post-landing deployment, while NASA will conduct rover operations and science planning.
  • VIPER is designed for a roughly 100-day surface mission to map water ice and other volatiles in permanently shadowed regions to inform future Artemis resource use.
  • NASA kept its earlier Astrobotic payments as the Griffin lander is repurposed for other payloads, Astrobotic said it did not bid on the new award, and Honeybee Robotics—owned by Blue Origin—built VIPER’s TRIDENT drill.