The VIPER project could have played a crucial role in determining how to harvest the Moon’s resources for future missions.
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The quest to find out more about the Moon’s water sources suffered a setback after the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Wednesday, July 17, finally put an end to its long-delayed VIPER programme that sought to put a rover on the far side of the lunar surface.
The space agency said that it took the decision to cancel the project due to increasing costs and several delays. The VIPER rover was initially expected to be ready for take-off by November 2023. However, the launch date was rescheduled to November 2024 as it reportedly needed more time for additional ground testing. Further supply chain and scheduling delays led to the launch date being moved to September 2025, before being permanently called off.
“Continuation of VIPER would result in an increased cost that threatens cancellation or disruption to other CLPS missions,” NASA said in a press release. Bloomberg reported that over $450 million dollars (approx. Rs 3,700 crore) has been invested in developing the rover.
What was the VIPER project, and who was behind it?
VIPER stands for Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, an exploration device that aims to search for water on the Moon’s South Pole as well as provide additional insights about the origin and water distribution at the site.
It was also a brainchild of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative which allowed the space agency to partner up with American companies to deliver large and sophisticated science and technology payloads to the Moon.
As part of the VIPER project, NASA commissioned a company based in Pittsburgh, US, called Astrobotic to carry the rover to the destination aboard its Griffin spacecraft.
What next?
Astrobotic will still attempt to land its Griffin spacecraft on the Moon in 2025 but the VIPER rover won’t be on board, according to a report by The Verge. Instead, the rover’s parts and instruments will likely be repurposed for future lunar missions.
“The agency has an array of missions planned to look for ice and other resources on the Moon over the next five years,” Nicola Fox, NASA’s associate administrator of the science mission directorate, said in a statement.
“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,” she added.