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Attend this 55-minute robotics colloquium featuring NASA's Senior Scientist for Autonomous Systems Terry Fong as he presents an in-depth overview of the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission. Explore NASA's groundbreaking lunar exploration project designed to search for water ice in the extreme environment of the Moon's South Pole, where VIPER will spend approximately 100 days mapping and surveying four different ice stability regions. Learn about the rover's innovative design capabilities that enable it to withstand extreme temperature conditions ranging from 40K to 300K, navigate dynamic lighting conditions and complex terrain while conducting near-real-time rover operations that present unprecedented planetary mission operational challenges. Discover how VIPER's findings will help determine the distribution, physical state, and composition of water ice deposits to increase understanding of lunar polar water sources and provide insights into volatile distribution and origins across the solar system. Gain insights into lunar surface simulation techniques, interactive mission operations, and the technical challenges of autonomous systems operating in space environments. Understand the mission timeline leading to VIPER's scheduled August 2027 launch aboard Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket and Blue Moon Mark 1 lunar lander, and learn from Fong's extensive experience as lead Rover Driver and former deputy manager for the VIPER mission, as well as his previous work developing the Astrobee free-flying robot currently operating on the International Space Station.
