WASHINGTON / RankWire.AI / – NASA has provided an update on its initiatives to develop both crewed and robotic lunar vehicles aimed at supporting exploration activities and establishing a permanent Moon base. The agency shared progress details in a Moon Base video update on Tuesday, October 20. These plans include the VIPER robotic rover and new lunar terrain vehicles designed for astronauts. Robert Pickle, who heads the Surface Mobility Office within NASA’s Moon Base Program, emphasized that lunar rovers are fundamental to the agency’s surface mobility approach.
The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, is scheduled to arrive at the lunar South Pole in 2027. Its mission will focus on exploring permanently shadowed craters to locate water and other vital resources for future explorations. The rover will be delivered by Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 lander and is capable of covering more than 30 kilometers. It will gather data on temperature ranges, lighting conditions, and terrain types.
Constructed entirely at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, VIPER is currently in the final testing phase before shipment to Kennedy Space Center for launch. Mission operations will be coordinated from NASA’s Ames Research Center in California. In September 2025, NASA selected Blue Origin to deliver the rover under a Commercial Lunar Payload Services task order valued at up to $190 million. The mission is expected to last approximately 100 days, with its findings potentially informing future lunar water resource utilization.
Vehicles designed to transport astronauts across lunar terrain
To enhance surface mobility, NASA has awarded task orders to Astrolab and Lunar Outpost for the development of lunar terrain vehicles, or LTVs. These vehicles will carry crew members, transport equipment, and facilitate sample collection. Astrolab’s CLV-1, based on its FLEX rover design, and Lunar Outpost’s Pegasus, a lighter evolution of its Eagle vehicle, are the models in development. Both companies aim to deliver operational hardware to NASA by the end of 2027. Additionally, NASA has contracted Blue Origin to supply the LTVs for deployment in the lunar South Pole region by 2028.
The LTVs will precede crewed Artemis missions, enabling remote surface mapping from Earth to prepare for human arrival, with coverage of up to 6 kilometers daily. Each vehicle can travel up to 10 kilometers on a single battery charge and support up to three moonwalks per Artemis expedition. They are capable of carrying as much as 80 kilograms of lunar samples and tools. The vehicles must withstand temperatures as low as minus 203 degrees Celsius in shadowed areas.
Upcoming tests and design assessments
Both firms are advancing through critical design milestones. Lunar Outpost’s preliminary design review was scheduled for October, while Astrolab plans to complete its review by the end of December. Astrolab has also delivered a CLV-1 mockup to Axiom Space for astronaut testing. Lunar Outpost has built two mockups and provided a third static model to Johnson Space Center. Additionally, Astrolab’s FLIP rover will participate in Griffin Mission One in late 2026, with a second Lunar Outpost MAPP rover scheduled for launch in early 2027.
These rover initiatives build upon NASA’s renewed focus on deep space exploration through crewed missions. The Artemis II mission set a record for the farthest human spaceflight in April. Blue Origin intends to launch its Blue Moon landers on its New Glenn rocket. NASA states that these vehicles will facilitate astronauts’ exploration of geologically diverse lunar regions. The rovers are integral to plans for establishing a sustained human presence on the Moon.
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