NASA is deploying robotic exploration rovers and crewed lunar terrain vehicles to the lunar South Pole by 2027 and 2028 to map terrain, test subsystems, and locate water ice resources for a human base on the Moon.
NASA VIPER Rover Targets Crater Ice in 2027
As part of its early development strategy for a permanent lunar outpost, NASA’s VIPER rover will travel more than 18 miles across the lunar South Pole region starting in 2027. The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover will venture directly into permanently shadowed craters to investigate the origin and distribution of water ice. Delivered to the surface by a Blue Moon Mark 1 lander, the rover will collect data on thermal, lighting, and terrain conditions.
Mission operations will be directed from NASA’s Ames Research Center. Teams are simulating scenarios there.
The completed vehicle is undergoing final testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
Contractors Build First Crewed Lunar Vehicles
NASA is preparing larger vehicles designed to carry astronauts during future Artemis missions. The agency awarded task orders to Astrolab and Lunar Outpost to develop lunar terrain vehicles, or LTVs, scheduled for delivery to the lunar South Pole by 2028 through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.
Operators on Earth will remotely guide the rovers up to 3.7 miles a day before astronauts step aboard. This will map high-resolution terrain and test navigation systems against extreme environmental factors. Once crews arrive, the LTVs will support up to three moonwalks per mission, transport up to 176 pounds of samples and tools, and travel up to six miles on a single battery charge.
Lunar rovers are central to our surface mobility strategy, their performance will lay the groundwork for the mobility systems that will define the next era of exploration and ultimately determine how effectively we can build, operate, and expand the infrastructure required for long‑duration exploration.
Robert Pickle, director of the Surface Mobility Office within the agency’s Moon Base Program
Astrolab and Lunar Outpost Develop Crewed Lunar Vehicles
Astrolab adapted its design from the FLEX architecture to create the Crewed Lunar Vehicle 1, known as CLV-1. Axiom Space received a mockup of the vehicle, allowing NASA astronauts to evaluate its cabin and display interfaces while wearing simulated spacesuits. Astrolab will launch its robotic FLIP rover aboard Voyager Technologies’ Griffin Mission One in late 2026 to test shared components like tires, radios, and batteries before CLV-1 arrives on the Moon.
Lunar Outpost is developing the Pegasus crewed LTV, building upon operational data gathered by its MAPP rover, which operated at the South Pole in 2025. Lunar Outpost delivered a third static mockup of Pegasus to NASA’s Johnson Space Center for pressurized spacesuit evaluations. A second MAPP rover is slated for launch in early 2027.
| Rover Project | Company | Key Milestone & Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| VIPER | NASA | Launches to lunar South Pole in 2027 via Blue Moon Mark 1 lander |
| FLIP / CLV-1 | Astrolab | Robotic FLIP launches in late 2026 |
| MAPP / Pegasus | Lunar Outpost | MAPP operated in 2025 |
Engineers Evaluate Soil Mechanics at Glenn
Teams from both Astrolab and Lunar Outpost will travel to NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Astrolab engineers will use the Simulated Lunar Operations laboratory to examine how the flexible, airless wheels of the CLV-1 perform on synthetic lunar terrain.
Lunar Outpost will test the traction and soil mechanics of the spring mesh tires used on Pegasus.
Both developers remain on schedule to deliver flight-ready hardware to NASA by the end of 2027.