(MENAFN- Trend News Agency ) NASA on Monday announced it would land an ice-seeking rover on a region of the Moon's south pole called the Nobile Crater in 2023, Trend reports citing Al Arabiya .
The space agency hopes the robot will confirm the presence of water ice just below the surface, which could one day be converted into rocket fuel for missions to Mars and deeper into the cosmos.
“Nobile Crater is an impact crater near the south pole that was born through a collision with another smaller celestial body,” Lori Glaze, director of NASA's planetary science division told reporters.
It is one of the solar system's coldest regions, and has only so far been probed from afar using sensors such as those aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite.
“The rover is going to get up close and personal with the lunar soil, even drilling several feet down,” said Glazer.
The robot is called Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER.
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