What do rovers do on the moon?

Original Use and Purpose. The primary purpose of the Apollo lunar rovers was to transport the astronauts, saving their energy and oxygen supplies for collecting rock samples to bring back to Earth. These rovers were built by the Boeing Company and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

Why don’t we have a moon rover?

The moon doesn’t. This means that the individual grains of moon dust are much sharper and more abrasive. The lack of an atmosphere also makes the day/night temperature swings more extreme. Both of these contribute to wear and failure of rovers.

Why is moon dust a problem?

If the chemical reactive particles are deposited in the lungs, they may cause respiratory disease. Long-term exposure to the dust may cause a more serious respiratory disease similar to silicosis. During lunar exploration the astronauts’ spacesuits will become contaminated with lunar dust.

Is NASA sending a rover to the moon?

The NASA rover will travel to areas of the lunar surface that have never seen sunlight to map and analyze concentrations of water ice in near real-time. The distribution and availability of water could have big implications for NASA’s Artemis program, which has the goal of returning humans to the moon by 2024.

Are there any robots on the Moon?

Besides the 2019 Chinese rover Yutu-2, the only artificial objects on the Moon that are still in use are the retroreflectors for the lunar laser ranging experiments left there by the Apollo 11, 14, and 15 astronauts, and by the Soviet Union’s Lunokhod 1 and Lunokhod 2 missions.

Is moon dust conductive?

“Lunar regolith” describes the layer of particles on the Moon’s surface generated by meteoritic impacts, and is similar to terrestrial volcanic ash [3]. The low electrical conductivity of the regolith allows individual dust grains to retain electrostatic charge.

Can you sell moon dust?

The authenticity of the material is usually verified by comparing its composition to lunar samples collected from the U.S. or Soviet moon missions. These meteorites are perfectly legal to collect and sell on the open market and often command extremely high prices at auction.

How did they get rover to moon?

Three were transported to and left on the Moon via the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 missions, with the fourth rover used for spare parts on the first three following the cancellation of Apollo 18.

Who will launch VIPER?

NASA
On Monday, NASA announced the autonomous VIPER vehicle — which is about the size of a golf cart — will touch down near the western rim of the Nobile Crater at the lunar south pole in 2023. It will spend at least 100 days exploring multiple lunar environments in this mountainous region.

What will the Viper Rover do on the Moon?

Planned for delivery to the lunar surface in December 2022, VIPER will collect about 100 days of data that will be used to inform the first global water resource maps of the Moon. Pictured here is a VIPER mobility testbed, an engineering model created to evaluate the rover’s mobility system.

How will Viper detect water on the lunar surface?

As the rover drives across the lunar surface, VIPER will use the Neutron Spectrometer System, or NSS, to indirectly detect potential water present in the soil, up to 3 feet below the surface, for further investigation. Where there is water, there must be hydrogen, since that element provides the H in H 2 O.

How will NASA’s first robotic rover operate on the Moon?

Through extensive testing on prototype units here on Earth, NASA teams have come up with the right solutions for operating NASA’s first robotic rover on the surface of the Moon. To scout out water ice, and to get to the most promising ice reserves, VIPER must maneuver a highly cratered surface with soils of varying levels of compaction.

What is Viper used for?

Overview NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, is a mobile robot that will go to the South Pole of the Moon to get a close-up view of the location and concentration of water ice that could eventually be harvested to sustain human exploration on the Moon, Mars — and beyond.