NASA cancels Moon rover mission VIPER due to budget constraints

NASA leadership says cancellation does not at all reflect quality of VIPER team
Artists illustration of NASAs ice-hunting VIPER rover exploring the moon. — NASA
Artist's illustration of NASA's ice-hunting VIPER rover exploring the moon. — NASA 

NASA, the biggest space exploration agency, will no longer proceed with a robotic moon rover programme named VIPE — Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover — because it cannot be operated within budget as development costs mount.

The mission was intended for search near the south pole of the Moon for ice deposits. VIPER would fly in 2025 on the Astrobotic Griffin lander as a part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services, or CLPS.

For a period of 100 days, it had been programmed to search for the lunar ice deposits that would be important for future human exploration.

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The decision to cancel VIPER was announced on July 17, and is expected to save NASA's $84 million in development costs. Although the programme was successful, the termination was solely due to budgetary concerns.

NASA leadership expressed that the cancellation does not at all reflect the quality of the VIPER team.

"This is a very tough choice, but it's a choice made based on budget concerns in a very constrained budget environment," said Nicola Fox, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

However, the cancellation of NASA’s rover reflects the ongoing budget cuts affecting the NASA’s upcoming programmes including the Chandra X-ray telescope and the Mars Sample Return Programme.