Research/ PLANETARY ROBOTICS
Mojave Volatiles Prospector (MVP): Science and Operations Results from a Lunar Polar Rover Analog Field Campaign
J. L. Heldmann, A. Colaprete, A. Cook, Ted L. Roush, M. Deans, R. Elphic, D. Lim, J. R. Skok, N. E. Button, S. Karunatillake, G. Garcia
NTRSSpacecraft Design, Testing and Performance · Cybernetics, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
The Mojave Volatiles Prospector (MVP) project is a science-driven field program with the goal of producing critical knowledge for conducting robotic exploration of the Moon. MVP feeds science, payload, and operational lessons learned to the development of a real-time, short-duration lunar polar volatiles prospecting mission. MVP achieved these goals through a simulated lunar rover mission to investigate the composition and distribution of surface and subsurface volatiles in a natural and a priori unknown environment within the Mojave Desert, improving our understanding of how to find, characterize, and access volatiles on the Moon.