NASA is canceling the VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) program, which was intended to send a lunar rover to the far side of the Moon to search for water. The reason was the increase in costs and delays, The Verge reports.
VIPER was originally expected to launch in late 2023. However, NASA has postponed the date to September 2025 due to supply delays.
Astrobotic was supposed to send VIPER to the Moon aboard its Griffin spacecraft. Despite the project's cancellation, Astrobotic will extend its contract with NASA to land the Griffin lander on the Moon, but without a lunar rover, "no earlier than" the fall of 2025.
NASA says that further development of VIPER will lead to increased costs that could jeopardize other missions under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
The agency has already spent $450 million on this mission. The developments of the VIPER spacecraft will be used in future missions to search for water on the Moon.