Mariella Moon has been a night editor for Engadget since 2013, covering everything from consumer technology and video games to strange little robots that could operate on the human body from the inside one day. She has a special affinity for space, its technologies and its mysteries, though, and has interviewed astronauts for Engadget.
. The agency was hoping that it could help answer important questions, such as where water is on the moon and how much there is for future spacefarers to use. But nowthe project and discontinue the rover's development, citing "cost increases, delays to the launch date and the risks of future cost growth."— it's even done assembling the rover and installing its scientific instruments.
Kearns added that the agency was also worried about additional expenses if the rover's launch gets delayed. NASA first announced the VIPER mission back in 2019, with plans to launch it in late 2022. However, due to supply chain issues during the height of the COVID pandemic, among other problems, its launch was pushed back to late 2024. More problems forced NASA to move its launch again to September 2025 at the earliest, so additional delays aren't outside the realm of possibility.
NASA has several projects lined up that will help it verify the presence of water ice on the moon. They just won't be focused on that goal and will most likely need more time to achieve what NASA was hoping VIPER would. The agency is planning to disassemble the rover and use its instruments and components for future missions.
While the project itself has already been canceled, the flight that was supposed to ferry VIPER to the moon will still push through.to launch the rover and to develop a lander called Griffin to safely get VIPER to its destination. The mission will fly with a non-functional item simulating the VIPER's mass. As Kearns explains, a successful demonstration of the Griffin lander would still be valuable for future missions, whether or not it's carrying a real rover.
VIPER Rocket Launch Joel Kearns
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