NASA has decided to discontinue its VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) project after a thorough internal review. The decision comes due to increased costs, launch delays, and the risk of further financial strain, which could disrupt other missions. Initially scheduled for a late 2023 launch, the VIPER’s timeline was pushed to late 2024 and then to September 2025 due to ongoing schedule and supply chain delays. This extension resulted in higher costs, prompting NASA to reconsider the project to protect its broader lunar exploration goals.
We are committed to studying and exploring the Moon for the benefit of humanity through the CLPS program,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The agency has an array of missions planned to look for ice and other resources on the Moon over the next five years. Our path forward will make maximum use of the technology and work that went into VIPER, while preserving critical funds to support our robust lunar portfolio.”
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NASA plans to disassemble VIPER and reuse its instruments and components for future Moon missions. Before disassembly, NASA is open to expressions of interest from U.S. industry and international partners to use the existing VIPER rover system at no cost to the government. Interested parties should contact NASA after 10 a.m. EDT on Thursday, July 18.
To achieve VIPER’s goals of searching for ice at the lunar South Pole, NASA will pursue alternative methods. A future CLPS delivery, the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1), is set to land at the South Pole in late 2024. This mission will search for water ice and conduct resource utilization demonstrations using a drill and mass spectrometer.
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Additionally, future crewed missions with instruments like the Lunar Terrain Vehicle will allow for mobile observations of the Moon’s volatile substances and access to permanently shadowed regions for sample return campaigns. NASA also plans to use copies of three of VIPER’s four instruments in upcoming Moon landings on separate flights.
Although the VIPER project has been canceled, NASA’s commitment to lunar exploration remains strong. Through initiatives like the Artemis human missions and the CLPS, NASA aims to explore more of the Moon than ever before.
