NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, also known as VIPER, is the agency’s first robotic lunar rover. Learn more about VIPER and its journey to the lunar surface. HWHAP Episode 328.
Houston, we have a podcast.
Welcome to the official podcast of the NASA Johnson Space center.
Episode 328, Viper.
I'm Leah Cheshire, and I'll be your host today.
On this podcast, we bring in the experts, scientists, engineers, and astronauts, all to let you know what's going on in the world of human spaceflight and more.
NASA's Artemis program has ushered in a new era of lunar exploration with an overarching goal of building sustainable presence on and around the moon.
As part of the Artemis program, NASA's volatiles investigating polar exploration rover, also known as Viper, will make a journey to the moon to search for ice and other potential resources on a 100 day mission.
Viper is NASA's first robotic lunar rover.
Daniel Andrews is the project manager for viper at NASA's Ames Research center in California's Silicon Valley.
For over 30 years, Dan has managed projects at NASA, designing and developing technological innovations, focusing on everything from autonomous robots to underwater treadmills that simulate microgravity.
Dan also led the lunar crater observation and sensing satellite, known as the LcRoSs mission, that confirmed the presence of water ice at the moon's south pole, paving the way for the Viper mission.
Today, he's here to fill us in on Viper and its one of a kind mission.
Let's get started.
We have a podcast.
All right, Dan Andrews, thank you so much for coming on Houston.
We have a podcast time.
Happy to be here.
We really appreciate you coming out from Ames to be here with us at Johnson Space center.
And before we start talking about Viper, I want to talk a little bit about you.
So you have your bachelor's degree in electrical and electronics engineering from San Jose State University, your master's degree in mechanical engineering at Stanford University.