We can’t wait to debut the first full-scale replica of NASA’s water-hunting Moon rover, the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER), at the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, California, this Saturday, May 28.
The model’s debut is part of the NASA Artemis Preview Weekend hosted by NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. The event is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 28 and Sunday, May 29. NASA’s Artemis Preview Weekend at Chabot will feature exhibits, hands-on activities, and Ames employees that have contributed to the Artemis lunar missions.
VIPER will scout the lunar South Pole to search for ice and other potential resources to help enable long-term human exploration of the Moon and other parts of deep space. The lunar rover is part of NASA’s Artemis missions, which will return astronauts to the Moon and land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface.