An Engineer maps out the position of rocks during VIPER testing at The NASA Glenn Research Center. A test version of the VIPER rover continues to show how well it moves through a simulated lunar surface in our SLOPE lab. This is a critical step toward ensuring the rover is ready for its 2023 mission to find water ice at the Moon’s South pole.

Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, VIPER Testin...

The Simulated Lunar Operations Lab at NASA Glenn Research Center serve to test planetary roving vehicle systems and components in simulated planetary and lunar conditions such as the VIPER Rover.

Viper Rover, in SLOPE Lab,

Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, VIPER Testin...

Percussive Excavation Bucket

Ultrasonic Teeth for Lunar Bucket Excavation

Lunar Tire Close-up

This is a close-up of an exact replica of the Apollo-era Lunar Roving Vehicle Wheel, of which twelve originals still rest on the surface of the Moon. The tire was designed to flex under load, without air, and was formed from a mesh of plated piano wire. Metal straps were hand riveted onto the mesh to reduce sinking into loose lunar soils. These replica wheels were tested in NASA Glenn's SLOPE Lab to establish a baseline for future improvements.

NBC Today Show at Lewis Field

Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (Viper)

Southwestern Saudi Arabia at Night

This striking image of the coastline of southwestern Saudi Arabia was taken by astronauts on the International Space Station. Patchy cloud cover partially obscures and blurs the city lights, especially in the vicinity of Khamis Mushait and Abha. While much of the country is lightly populated desert—and relatively dark at night due to lack of city and roadway lights—the southwestern coastal region has a more moderate climate and several large cities. Three brightly lit urban centers are visible at image top left: Jeddah, Mecca, and Taif. Jeddah is the gateway city for Islamic pilgrims going to nearby Mecca, a religious journey known as the Hajj. Taif is located on the slopes of the Sarawat Mountains and provides a summer retreat for the Saudi government from the desert heat of the capital, Riyadh. Bright yellow-orange lighting marks highways that parallel the trend of the Asir Mountains (image center), connecting Mecca to the resort cities of Al Bahah and Abha. Smaller roadways, lit with blue lights, extend to the west to small cities along the Red Sea coastline. The bright yellow-orange glow of the city of Abha is matched by that of Khamis Mushait (or Khamis Mushayt) to the northeast. The brightly lit ribbon of highway continues towards other large cities to the south (Jazan, not shown) and southeast (Najran, not shown). Astronaut photograph ISS036-E-25802 was acquired on July 26, 2013, with a Nikon D3S digital camera using a 50 millimeter lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by the Expedition 36 crew. It has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Caption by William L. Stefanov, Jacobs/JETS at NASA-JSC. Instrument: ISS - Digital Camera More info: <a href="http://1.usa.gov/13TqPcr" rel="nofollow">1.usa.gov/13TqPcr</a> Credit: <a href="http://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/" rel="nofollow"> NASA Earth Observatory</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>