NASA announced Wednesday that it intends to halt development of the VIPER (Volatile Exploration Polar Rover) project following a comprehensive internal investigation.
NASA cited increasing costs, a delayed launch date, and the risk of future cost increases as reasons for canceling the mission. The rover was originally planned for launch in late 2023, but in 2022 NASA requested a postponement of the launch to late 2024 to allow time for pre-flight testing of the Astrobotic lander. Since then, further schedule and supply chain delays have pushed VIPER’s readiness date to September 2025, and the launch of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS), independently aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin lander, has also been pushed back to a similar time. Continuing VIPER would lead to increased costs and threaten the cancellation or suspension of other CLPS missions. NASA has notified Congress of the agency’s intentions.
“Through the CLPS program, we are committed to studying and exploring the Moon for the benefit of humanity,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Over the next five years, NASA is planning a series of missions to search for ice and other resources on the Moon’s surface. We will maximize the technology and work put into VIPER while maintaining the critical funding that supports our strong lunar portfolio.”
Going forward, NASA plans to dismantle VIPER’s instruments and components for reuse in future lunar missions. Prior to dismantling, NASA will consider expressions of interest by Thursday, August 1 from U.S. industry and international partners who would like to use the existing VIPER rover system at no cost to the government. Interested parties can contact the agency at [email protected] After 10 a.m. EDT on Thursday, July 18. The project is expected to be completed in an orderly fashion by spring 2025.
Astrobotic will continue with Griffin Mission One under its contract with NASA, working toward a launch scheduled for fall 2025 or later. The landing without VIPER will serve as a flight demonstration of the Griffin lander and its engines.
NASA will pursue alternative means to accomplish many of VIPER’s goals and confirm the presence of ice at the lunar south pole. Future CLPS deliveries will include: The Polar Resource Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1), scheduled to land in Antarctica in the fourth quarter of 2024, will conduct a resource utilization demonstration, exploring for water ice and using a drill and mass spectrometer to measure the volatile content of subsurface materials.
Additionally, future instruments deployed as part of NASA’s crewed missions (e.g., the Lunar Terrain Vehicle) will enable volatile migration observations throughout the Antarctic region and allow astronauts access to the Moon’s permanently shadowed regions for dedicated sample return campaigns. NASA also plans to use copies of three of VIPER’s four instruments for a future lunar landing on a separate flight.
The VIPER rover was designed to search for ice and other potential resources on Earth’s Moon to support NASA’s lunar research and efforts to unlock some of the solar system’s greatest mysteries. Through NASA’s lunar exploration programs, including the Artemis crewed missions and CLPS, NASA is exploring more of the Moon than ever before, utilizing highly trained astronauts, advanced robotics, U.S. commercial providers, and international partners.
For more information about VIPER, please see below.
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Karen Fox / Erin Morton
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600 / 202-805-9393
[email protected] / [email protected]
