Blue Moon Pathfinder Mission 2 & VIPER

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Robotic Exploration

Low Earth Orbit Launch Complex 36A Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

2nd of the National Team’s Blue Moon MK1 lunar lander test missions to validate the necessary technologies for its HLS lunar module. Some of the life support hardware will travel on this mission in preparation for the first crew Blue Moon flight. This mission will also carry NASA’s VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) lunar rover. VIPER is designed to explore the relatively nearby but extreme environment of the Moon in search of ice and other potential resources. This mobile robot will land at the South Pole of the Moon on a 100-day mission, in order to teach us about the origin and distribution of water on the Moon and help determine how we can harvest the Moon's resources for future human space exploration. VIPER is designed to roam the Moon using its three instruments and a 1 meter long drill to detect and analyze various lunar soil environments at a range of depths and temperatures. The rover can venture into permanently shadowed craters, some of the coldest spots in the solar system, where ice reserves have endured for billions of years. The rover was originally slated to launch on Astrobotic’s Griffin Mission One lunar lander (with the Falcon Heavy rocket), but the VIPER mission was cancelled in July 2024 due to budget cuts. After consulting with the industry to find alternative ways to deliver the rover to the lunar surface, NASA ultimately chose to launch it with Blue Origin’s 2nd Blue Moon MK1 lander mission.

Updates

New Glenn

Family:
Configuration:

The New Glenn is a privately funded orbital launch vehicle in development by Blue Origin. New Glenn is described as a 7-meter-diameter (23 ft), two- or three-stage rocket.

See Details
Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    98.0 m
  • Diameter
    7.0 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    7.0 m
  • Launch Mass
  • Thrust
    17126.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    New Glenn
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    New Glenn
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
    45000.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    13000.0 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Booster Info


Unknown NG


Type: Core
Flight Proven: No

Blue Origin

Blue Origin

(BO)

CEO: Jeff Bezos Founded: 2000 Successes: 39 Failures: 2 Pending: 6

Agency Type:

Blue Origin is an American privately funded aerospace manufacturer and spaceflight services company set up by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos with its headquarters in Kent, Washington. The company is developing technologies to enable private human access to space with the goal to dramatically lower costs and increase reliability. Blue Origin currently launches its New Shepard sub-orbital vehicle from its West Texas launch site, they are currently constructing a launch pad for their orbital vehicle New Glenn at Cape Canaveral LC-36.

INFO WIKI
SpaceDaily

Sandia centrifuge campaign clears NASA VIPER rover for lunar launch

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 18, 2025 NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, has cleared a major test campaign at Sandia National Laboratories that is intended to show the 1,000-pound lunar rover can withstand t…

SpaceNews

Blue Origin only bidder for new VIPER lander award

Blue Origin was the sole bidder for a NASA task order that revived a canceled lunar rover mission. The post Blue Origin only bidder for new VIPER lander award appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA

NASA Selects Blue Origin to Deliver VIPER Rover to Moon’s South Pole

As part of the agency’s Artemis campaign, NASA has awarded Blue Origin of Kent, Washington, a CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) task order with an option to deliver a rover to the Moon’s South Pole region. NASA’s VIPER (Volatiles In…

SpacePolicyOnline.com

VIPER Might Have A New Ride to the Moon on Blue Origin

NASA’s much-anticipated but imperiled VIPER lunar rover got some good news today. More than a year after NASA announced it was terminating the mission even though the rover is completely […]

SpaceNews

NASA revives VIPER lunar rover mission with Blue Origin lander award

NASA has revived a robotic lunar rover mission by selecting Blue Origin to deliver it to the moon’s south pole in 2027. The post NASA revives VIPER lunar rover mission with Blue Origin lander award appeared first on SpaceNews.

Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Launch Complex 36A


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