Ramping up (and down) 🏎️⁣ ⁣ Teams at NASAAmes recently put a prototype of NASA’s first robotic Moon rover, the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER), through rigorous egress testing. The prototype passed with flying colors as engineers tested the rover for what could be one of the most challenging aspects of its 100-day mission, exiting onto the lunar surface.⁣ ⁣ When VIPER arrives at its target destination on Mons Mouton, a flat-topped mountain on the lunar South Pole, it may encounter a steep or uneven descent to the Moon’s surface, and engineers are preparing for worst-case scenarios that the rover could face.⁣ ⁣ Image description: Antoine Tardy, VIPER egress driver, adjusts the cables that power and send commands to the VIPER test unit as engineers practice its exit/descent from the model Griffin lunar lander at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley.⁣ ⁣ Credit: NASA/Dominic Hart⁣ ⁣ #Moon #Artemis #LunarRover #Ramp #NASA #VIPER