WASHINGTON, July 17,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a comprehensive
internal review, NASA announced Wednesday its intent to discontinue
development of its VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration
Rover) project.
NASA stated cost increases, delays to the launch date, and the
risks of future cost growth as the reasons to stand down on the
mission. The rover was originally planned to launch in late 2023,
but in 2022, NASA requested a launch delay to late 2024 to provide
more time for preflight testing of the Astrobotic lander. Since
that time, additional schedule and supply chain delays pushed
VIPER's readiness date to September
2025, and independently its CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload
Services) launch aboard Astrobotic's Griffin lander also has been
delayed to a similar time. Continuation of VIPER would result in an
increased cost that threatens cancellation or disruption to other
CLPS missions. NASA has notified Congress of the agency's
intent.
"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."
Moving forward, NASA is planning to disassemble and reuse
VIPER's instruments and components for future Moon missions. Prior
to disassembly, NASA will consider expressions of interest from
U.S. industry and international partners by Thursday, Aug. 1, for use of the existing VIPER
rover system at no cost to the government. Interested parties
should contact HQ-CLPS-Payload@mail.nasa.gov after
10 a.m. EDT on Thursday, July 18. The
project will conduct an orderly close out through spring 2025.
Astrobotic will continue its Griffin Mission One within its
contract with NASA, working toward a launch scheduled for no
earlier than fall 2025. The landing without VIPER will provide a
flight demonstration of the Griffin lander and its engines.
NASA will pursue alternative methods to accomplish many of
VIPER's goals and verify the presence of ice at the lunar South
Pole. A future CLPS delivery – the Polar Resources Ice Mining
Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) -- scheduled to land at the South Pole
during the fourth quarter of 2024, will search for water ice and
carry out a resource utilization demonstration using a drill and
mass spectrometer to measure the volatile content of subsurface
materials.
Additionally, future instruments as part of NASA's crewed
missions – for example, the Lunar Terrain Vehicle -- will allow for
mobile observations of volatiles across the south polar region, as
well as provide access for astronauts to the Moon's permanently
shadowed regions for dedicated sample return campaigns. The agency
will also use copies of three of VIPER's four instruments for
future Moon landings on separate flights.
The VIPER rover was designed to search Earth's Moon for ice and
other potential resources – in support of NASA's commitment to
study the Moon and help unravel some of the greatest mysteries of
our solar system. Through NASA's lunar initiatives, including
Artemis human missions and CLPS, NASA is exploring more of the Moon
than ever before using highly trained astronauts, advanced
robotics, U.S. commercial providers, and international
partners.
For more information about VIPER, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/viper
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SOURCE NASA