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Narrator: We know from decades of study

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that the Moon has water.

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But where? And how much?

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In 2023, a robotic rover will explore

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the Moon's surface in search of water ice.

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NASA's VIPER Moon rover will perform the first

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resource mapping mission on another world,

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using advanced instruments and tools to determine

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the location and concentration of water on the Moon.

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Thomas Zurbuchen: To send VIPER to the Moon,

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we're leveraging industry as part of our

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Commerical Lunar Payload Services program.

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A program designed to send science instruments

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and technology payloads to the surface of the Moon.

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VIPER represents a very different

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development paradigm.

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We are developing each instrument for launch on

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a CLPS ahead of VIPER, totally flipping on its head

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how we normally do this.

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This is truly creative.

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An industry partner will launch VIPER

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to the Moon's South Pole.

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This is a place where no human or rover

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has ever been before.

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Narrator: The rover's survey will provide

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scientists with the most detailed view of

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the Moon's water to date and point to spots where

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water could be harvested by future astronauts.

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Lori Glaze: VIPER will be the first

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resource-mapping mission on the surface

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of another celestial body.

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It represents a new kind of mission for NASA

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in which the objectives of advancing science

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and human exploration are closer than ever.

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The measurements that VIPER's instruments will

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make can help us understand the source and

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distribution of the water and other volatiles

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on the Moon, giving us insight into the evolution

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of the Moon and the Earth-Moon system.

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The Moon's water is also a precious resource that

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could be extracted to support human exploration

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of the Moon and beyond.

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What we learn from VIPER will bring us a step closer

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to developing a sustainable, long-term