NASA has canceled its VIPER project that would’ve sent a rover to the moon to search for ice. Scheduling delays and increasing costs contributed to its cancellation.
NASA isn’t moving forward with its VIPER program — short for Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover — which aimed to put a rover on the far side of the Moon to search for water. On Wednesday, NASA cited cost increases and several delays as its reasons for canceling the project. VIPER was originally expected to launch at the end of 2023. However, NASA pushed the date to September 2025 due to supply chain and scheduling delays.
NASA says continued development of VIPER would “result in an increased cost that threatens cancellation or disruption” to other missions under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. The agency has spent $450 million to develop the rover so far, according to Bloomberg. Instead of dedicating more resources to the craft, it has chosen to disassemble and reuse the rover’s instruments for future missions to the Moon.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
NASA axes its moon rover project VIPERThe Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover was intended to search the moon's polar regions for water, but will now be shelved due to budget issues.
Read more »
NASA cancels $450 million VIPER moon rover due to budget concernsBrett is curious about emerging aerospace technologies, alternative launch concepts, military space developments and uncrewed aircraft systems. Brett's work has appeared on Scientific American, The War Zone, Popular Science, the History Channel, Science Discovery and more.
Read more »
NASA cancels Viper moon rover mission, citing cost overruns and launch delaysNASA said Wednesday it's canceling its water-seeking moon rover, citing cost overruns and launch delays.
Read more »
NASA Ends VIPER Project, Continues Moon ExplorationFollowing a comprehensive internal review, NASA announced Wednesday its intent to discontinue development of its VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar
Read more »
NASA Sunsets Surprising Moon MissionNASA's Viper mission is being discontinued.
Read more »
NASA cancels its moon rover mission, citing cost overruns and launch delaysNASA is canceling a water-seeking moon rover because of cost overruns and launch delays. The space agency announced the news Wednesday, days before the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. The Viper rover was supposed to launch in 2023 aboard a lander provided by Astrobotic Technology.
Read more »