spacetoday.net: Astrobotic selects Falcon Heavy to launch NASA lunar rover

Astrobotic selects Falcon Heavy to launch NASA lunar rover

Posted: Sun, Apr 18, 2021, 11:23 AM ET (1523 GMT)
Falcon Heavy launch of Arabsat-6A (SpaceX)

Astrobotic has selected SpaceX's Falcon Heavy to launch a lunar lander mission carrying a NASA rover. Astrobotic announced Tuesday that it signed a contract with SpaceX to launch its Griffin lunar lander in late 2023. Griffin will carry NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission to the south pole of the moon to prospect for water ice. Astrobotic won a NASA task order through the agency's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program last year to transport VIPER to the moon. The companies did not disclose the value of the launch contract.