The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced the cancellation of the VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) lunar rover program.
The message appeared on the official website site American agency. NASA cited launch delays, an increase in the cost of the program, and the risk of even greater cost increases in the future as reasons for the rejection.
It should be noted that initially the lunar rover was planned to be launched at the end of 2023, but in 2022 the launch was asked to be postponed until the end of 2024 to give more time for pre-flight tests of the lander.
Subsequently, due to additional delays and supply chain difficulties, the VIPER's completion date had to be pushed back to September 2025. Now the final point has been put in the ambitious program.
At the time of its closure, the lunar rover was assembled and sent for testing. According to reports, 450 million dollars have already been spent on the program, while its cancellation will save NASA "only" 84 million dollars.
VIPER was supposed to search for minerals and water ice in the region of the south pole of the Moon. The weight of the device is 430 kg.
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