Resource Prospector is a cancelled mission concept by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

of a

rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, US * ...

that would have performed a survey expedition on a polar region of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

. The rover was to attempt to detect and map the location of volatiles such as

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-to ...

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements ...

and lunar water which could foster more affordable and sustainable human exploration to the Moon,

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

, and other

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bodies. The mission concept was still in its pre-formulation stage,Resource Prospector
Advanced Exploration Systems, NASA 2017 when it was scrapped in April 2018.NASA scraps a lunar surface mission — just as it's supposed to focus on a Moon return
Loren Grush, ''The Verge'' April 27, 2018New NASA leader faces an early test on his commitment to Moon landings
Eric Berger, ''ARS Technica'' 27 April 2018 The Resource Prospector mission was proposed to be launched in 2022. Its science instruments will be flown on several commercial lander missions contracted with NASA's new

Commercial Lunar Payload Services Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) is a NASA program to contract transportation services able to send small robotic landers and rovers to the Moon's south polar region mostly with the goals of scouting for lunar resources, testing in sit ...

program. The VIPER rover is developed as a successor of Resource Prospector.

Overview

In February 1976, the Soviet lander Luna 24 sent a sample of lunar soil to

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...

, where it was found to contain about 0.1% water. Data obtained by the

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a NASA robotic spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon in an eccentric polar mapping orbit. Data collected by LRO have been described as essential for planning NASA's future human and robotic missions t ...

(LRO), Chandrayaan-1, and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), revealed that lunar water is distributed widely (if thinly) across the Moon's surface. The Resource Prospector mission concept proposes a NASA-led collaboration that seeks international space agencies and private industry partners to maximize the value. However, it is unclear if the use of lunar resources is permitted under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty signed by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, and 90 other countries.

Hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-to ...

and

can be used to make vital consumables, but also, to make rocket fuel, and basic materials required for in-space manufacturing. The technical process is called in situ resource utilization or ISRU. The rover would have used a drill to extract samples of the lunar soil from as deep as one meter below the surface. The Taiwanese

National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST; ) is a Taiwanese state owned corporation, formerly part of the Republic of China Ministry of National Defense's Armaments Bureau, which is active in the development, manufactur ...

was responsible for developing the Rover's sensor system. In September 2015, the rover prototype underwent field testing, and in May 2016, the prototype rover underwent thermal vacuum and thermal testing at NASA's

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Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

.Resource Prospector Progresses with Thermal Vacuum Testing
Erin Mahoney, ''NASA TV'' 6 August 2017 Before its cancellation, NASA officials were exploring various launch options, including to fly it as a secondary payload on board the second flight of the

Space Launch System The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle developed by NASA. As of 2022, SLS has the highest payload capacity of any rocket in operational service, as well as the greatest liftoff thrust of any ...

, called the

Artemis 2 Artemis 2 (officially Artemis II) is the second scheduled mission of NASA's Artemis program, and the first scheduled crewed mission of NASA's Orion spacecraft, currently planned to be launched by the Space Launch System (SLS) in May 2024. The c ...

in 2022. Another reported launch option was the

Falcon Heavy Falcon Heavy is a partially reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle that is produced by SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer. The rocket consists of two strap-on boosters made from Falcon 9 first stages, a center core also made from a Falc ...

rocket.

Cancellation

The Resource Prospector team was notified on 23 April 2018 to cease all work on the project by the end of May 2018. The concept was going to be submitted for a major design review by the end of 2018 for funding, development and launch. This rover was the only mission in conceptual development by NASA to explore the surface of the Moon ''in situ''. Apparently, the cancellation stemmed from the program being moved to another Division with an insufficient budget to fund this mission. US$100 million were already spent on the rover's instruments over ten years.NASA spent US$100 million on much-anticipated lunar rover before scrapping it in April
Alex Stuckey, ''Chron'' 5 June 2018 Scientists involved in the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group sent a letter on 26 April 2018 to the

NASA administrator The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the highest-ranking official of NASA, the national space agency of the United States. The administrator is NASA's chief decision maker, responsible for providing clarity t ...

, James Bridenstine laying their case to reverse the decision,LEAG Letter To NASA Administrator Bridenstine Regarding Resource Prospector Mission
Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) 26 April 2017 and remarked that other nations are preparing landers to stake claim on the natural resources on the south polar region of the Moon. In a 3 May 2018 statement, NASA officials explained that lunar surface exploration will continue in the future, but using commercial lander services under a new

(CLPS) program.NASA argues Resource Prospector no longer fit into agency's lunar exploration plans
Jeff Foust, ''SpaceNews'' 4 May 2018NASA emphasizes commercial lunar lander plans with Resource Prospector cancellation
Jeff Foust, ''SpaceNews'' 28 April 2018 Some of these commercial landers will be equipped with the ice drill and scientific instruments developed for the Resource Prospector. NASA officials stated that under this program, Resource Prospector instruments will go forward in an expanded lunar surface campaign, instead of the original two weeks.New NASA boss Jim Bridenstine faces his first challenge: a balancing act between the moon and Mars
Jeff Foust, ''SpaceNews'' 1 June 2018

Mission

Water Detected at High Latitudes on the Moon

Preliminary studies call for a rover of about , that would measure 1.4 m x 1.4 m x 2 m. It was suggested to be launched with a

Falcon 9 Falcon 9 is a partially reusable medium lift launch vehicle that can carry cargo and crew into Earth orbit, produced by American aerospace company SpaceX. The rocket has two stages. The first (booster) stage carries the second stage and pay ...

rocket. The mission life would have been between 6 and 14 Earth days.

Goal

The motivation and purpose of the mission was to characterize the nature and distribution of lunar water and other volatiles in lunar polar sub-surface materials, and to demonstrate in situ resource utilization (ISRU) processing of lunar soil by heating samples in an oven and isolating the resulting volatiles.Resource Prospector: Evaluating the ISRU Potential of the Lunar Poles
Anthony Colaprete NASA Ames Research Center 2 November 2016

Conceptual payload

The conceptual payload includes:NASA's Resource Prospector Rover to Search for Lunar Volatiles
Doug Messier, ''Parabolic Arc News'' 1 May 2017Resource Prospector: Evaluating the ISRU potential of the lunar poles
Elphic, Richard; Colaprete, Anthony; Andrews, Daniel; 42nd COSPAR Scientific Assembly Held 14–22 July 2018, in Pasadena, California, U.S. Abstract id. B3.1-14-18 July 2018. * Neutron Spectrometer System (NSS) * Near InfraRed Volatiles Spectrometer System (NIRVSS) * One meter long

core drill A modern core drill is a drill specifically designed to remove a cylinder of material, much like a hole saw. The material left inside the drill bit is referred to as the ''core''. Core drills used in metal are called annular cutters. Core d ...

* Oven The drill, NSS and NIRVSS spectrometers will be launched in 2022 on board the VIPER rover.

References