ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - New Mexico scientists are contributing to a groundbreaking NASA mission with a rover designed to search for water on the moon's surface.
A team at Sandia National Laboratories played a crucial role in testing the rover, which could pave the way for more space exploration. The testing involved a unique device found only in New Mexico.
"For me, it gets me excited because of what comes next" said Orlando Abeyta, operations engineer at Sandia National Labs.
NASA approached Sandia in 2023 to test the structural integrity of their flight vehicle, said Leticia Mercado, a mechanical engineer at Sandia National Labs.
The rover, named VIPER, is designed to drill into the moon's surface to search for frozen water. Abeyta said, "They're going to pull some samples out and do some analysis, and then we'll determine if there is, you know, any water on the moon for future landings, or, you know, even, honestly, living on the moon."
The rover was developed outside New Mexico, but NASA needed Sandia's one-of-a-kind centrifuge to ensure it could survive the trip to the moon. Mercado explained, "The Viper was mounted onto the arm in different orientations, and then we simulated the flight environments."
These environments simulated forces 300 times Earth's gravity. "It has the highest G-pound load and the highest payload rate that you can put on a centrifuge arm," said Abeyta. "They could not perform that anywhere else in the world."
Researchers confirmed the VIPER passed all tests earlier this year. "We were the last stop before they could say the lander is qualified and ready for launch," said Mercado.
NASA announced in September that Blue Origin will fly the rover to the moon in 2027. Abeyta emphasized the impact of their work, saying, "The work that we do at Sandia, you know, not only affects New Mexico, but the entire nation."
"It's just exciting to see, like, what we've accomplished and what more we'll do in the future," Mercado added.
While there's no official launch date yet, NASA officials say the VIPER rover will have about 100 days to search for water once it lands near the moon's south pole.