By: Coco Xu
NASA spent $450 million on a moon mission, only to cancel it. The rover, called Volatiles Investigating Polar Investigating Rover (VIPER), is a vehicle the size of a small car built by Astrobotic Technology of Pittsburgh for NASA to search for previously detected water that astronauts on potential future moon missions could utilize on the permanently dark areas of the moon’s surface. The rover is set to be replaced by a nonfunctional “mass simulation.”
VIPER’s cancellation is part of a series of obstacles impeding NASA’s exploration efforts. A mission to send Martian rock samples back to Earth is becoming more expensive, leading NASA to search for cheaper methods to carry out their plans. The Europa Clipper, a mission to investigate the under-ice ocean of the Jovian moon with the same name, is expected to see a delay due to issues with some of its parts. To make matters worse, Congress is unlikely to allot NASA more funding in upcoming months. Because other planned missions can conduct VIPER’s objectives, but only more slowly, the institution decided it would be best to cancel the rover’s launch to save a bit of money.
The agency announced the cancellation on July 17. “Decisions like we’ve been discussing today are extremely difficult to make,” said Dr. Nicola Fox, the associate administrator for NASA’s science mission directorate, during an interview with [who]. “We don’t make them lightly. We put a lot of thought into the best way to move forward.”
NASA has completed the craft’s construction, but its endurance during a shaky launch and in the moon’s harsh conditions is yet to be tested. The institution is planning to disassemble the rover and use its instruments for other missions, although it is open to requests from American companies or partners from other nations to launch the rover in its current state, as long as it does not cost the federal government more money.
The craft was initially planned to launch in late 2023, but NASA’s request to perform more tests on the rover postponed the launch to late 2024. However, due to supply chain disruptions from the lingering effect of the pandemic, VIPER would only be ready for takeoff in 2025 at best. Dr. Fox expressed concern that the rover might not be ready even then, and that more delays might put further strain on NASA’s already tight budget.
NASA’s record with space missions this year hasn’t been particularly great. Astrobotic’s first mission for NASA failed shortly after launch and a more successful mission conducted by Intuitive Machines, another American company, managed to reach the surface of the moon but tipped over after it landed.
NASA has informed the congressional committees that manage NASA’s budget about their decision to cancel the mission. Congress may reverse the cancellation, although that will require budget cuts for other missions. “It is a decision based on budgetary concerns in a very constrained budget environment,” Dr. Fox said.
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