NASA’s VIPER is designed to search for water ice around the Moon’s south pole. But instead of exploring the lunar terrain, the fully assembled four-wheeled robot is in storage at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. After canceling its VIPER mission last year, NASA is still searching for alternatives to launch its lunar rover, and the agency just took another step backward in making it happen.
NASA canceled a solicitation for partnership proposals it had sent out earlier this year, calling on the private sector to take over its VIPER mission. This week, the agency announced it would explore alternative options to deliver its lunar rover to the Moon. “We appreciate the efforts of those who proposed to the Lunar Volatiles Science Partnership Announcement for Partnership Proposals call,” Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement. “We look forward to accomplishing future volatiles science with VIPER as we continue NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration efforts.”
VIPER, or Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, was originally scheduled to launch in 2023. The launch date was first pushed back to 2024 and later to 2025 due to additional schedule and supply chain delays. In July 2024, the space agency decided to cancel the mission altogether, stating that it threatens to disrupt other commercial payload missions to the Moon.
At first, NASA’s plan was to disassemble the VIPER rover and use its parts for future missions. The decision, however, sparked outrage from the science community over the loss of the lunar explorer. In response, NASA abruptly put together a call for the private sector to take over its robot and send it to the Moon. Space startups, such as Intuitive Machines, stepped up to put together a plan to respond to NASA’s request for information. It’s unclear why NASA has reversed earlier decision to pursue a private partnership to send VIPER to the Moon.
NASA has already spent $450 million developing its VIPER mission, and the agency declared that it wouldn’t spend any more money on getting the rover to land on the lunar surface. Without the help of the private sector, NASA’s alternatives for VIPER, at no additional cost from its own pocket, seem rather limited. “The agency will announce a new strategy for VIPER in the future,” NASA wrote in its statement.