NASA has announced the cancellation of its VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) moon rover mission due to budgetary concerns. The decision, disclosed during a press conference at NASA headquarters in Washington on Thursday, July 17, comes as the projected costs for the mission exceeded expectations.
Initially planned to launch in 2025 aboard the Astrobotic Griffin lander as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative (CLPS), the VIPER mission aimed to explore lunar ice deposits near the moon’s south pole over a period of 100 days. The mission’s total budget had already reached $450 million, with an additional $84 million required for development alone, excluding launch costs.
After a comprehensive review, we are discontinuing development of our VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) project. We are committed to studying and exploring the Moon, and will pursue other methods to accomplish many of VIPER’s goals: https://t.co/oMyngdoUKc pic.twitter.com/UJXmf0gnRv
— NASA (@NASA) July 17, 2024
Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration at NASA, expressed confidence in the VIPER team but cited stringent budget constraints in the United States as the primary reason for the cancellation. “We were very confident in the VIPER team. This really gets down to cost and a very constrained budget environment in the United States,” Kearns stated during the conference.
Despite the cancellation, NASA remains committed to its lunar exploration objectives. The agency is exploring alternative ways to leverage the VIPER’s scientific instruments for future missions. One such mission includes the NASA Lunar Terrain Vehicle, scheduled for launch in 2024, which aims to transport astronauts to the lunar surface and operate remotely in the moon’s permanently shadowed regions near the south pole to study ice formations.
Originally slated for a late 2022 launch, the VIPER mission faced delays, eventually rescheduling for September 2025 before its cancellation. This decision underscores the challenges inherent in space exploration and the critical importance of effective budget management in large-scale scientific endeavors.
NASA’s decision reflects its ongoing commitment to lunar exploration despite setbacks, focusing on innovative approaches to achieve its scientific goals in the challenging environment of outer space exploration.
(With Media Input)
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