By: Shawn  Wang

NASA plans to spend $800 million to cancel the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission, which was scheduled to launch in late 2023. The rover, known as VIPER, was already built and was intended to search for water ice near the moon’s south pole. However, delays with both the VIPER rover and the privately-built spacecraft led to uncertainty about the mission’s timeline and risked cuts or cancellations to other missions.

The proposed VIPER cancellation is the latest setback in NASA’s science efforts, as costs for a Mars mission have spiraled upward, leading NASA to ask for new, cheaper ideas. The Europa Clipper robotic mission may be delayed due to problems with some of its components.

NASA has spent $450 million on VIPER as of June, but testing has not been completed to ensure it can survive rocket launch shaking and harsh space conditions. The cancellation would save at least $84 million, as NASA would no longer need to pay to complete tests or operate the rover on the moon. Other missions will still complete a lot of VIPER’s goals, just not as quickly.

NASA plans to disassemble VIPER and use the parts and pieces on other missions, but it is willing to listen to proposals from American companies or international partners for using the VIPER system as is, if there would be no additional cost for the federal government. NASA hired Astrobotic Technology of Pittsburgh to take VIPER to the moon, and the agency is still planning to pay $323 million to proceed with that mission.

A successful demonstration of the lander, named Griffin, would still be successful even without the rover and scientific instruments.

Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/17/science/nasa-viper-moon-rover-canceled.html