Lunar Rover Offers Boarding Passes in Redux of Perseverance Program

NASA is once again soliciting names to be included aboard the upcoming VIPER moon mission, allowing Earthbound civilians a chance to get their name inscribed in spacefaring history.

Much like the Perseverance Rover program, applications are accepted to have NASA enthusiasts' names added to a small, lightweight chip mounted on the drone, forever cementing their mark on the one-day derelict lunar monument. VIPER is another cool-sounding acronym from the NASA minds, short for "Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover". The drone will head to Luna's south pole to look for the presence of ice, water, and other easily harvestable resources. VIPER's findings may go far in planning out the sustenance of a long-lived Lunar colony in the near future. That's been on NASA's wish list ever since beginning the Artemis program, since Luna will inevitably have to grow into a stepping stone on the way to Mars.

As part of the “Send Your Name with VIPER” campaign, NASA will accept names received before 23:59 Eastern Standard Time on March 15th. Once collected, the agency will take the names and attach them to the rover. They will accompany the VIPER rover during its 100-day mission over miles of craters and frigid coves throughout the Lunar pole.

FMI: www.nasa.gov