NASA down VIPER mission after spending 450 million dollars

The world’s largest space agency NASA is struggling with budget crunch. According to a report, NASA has scrapped its upcoming robotic mission, VIPER. VIPER stands for Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover. This rover was to be landed near the south pole of the Moon. NASA wanted the rover to reach there and explore the ice deposits. The mission was proposed for 100 days, which was to be launched by the year 2025. NASA is said to have either scrapped the mission or potentially sold it to industry.

spacedotcom’s Report According to , the decision to end the VIPER mission was taken in a teleconference on July 17. Canceling the mission is expected to save NASA $84 million. The space agency has so far spent approximately $450 million (approximately Rs 37 billion) in this program, which does not include the launch cost.

Canceling the program after reaching this stage could be disappointing for the space agency. However, the emphasis of his leadership is that the amount of work done on the program was successful. The mission has been ended only because of budget.

According to the report, at the time the VIPER mission was aborted, the rover was completely ready and was undergoing environmental testing. This testing confirms whether the rover will be able to withstand the harsh environment of space or not. The space agency is now looking at how to reuse the scientific instruments installed in VIPER.

NASA is confident that future Moon missions will achieve the goals that the VIPER mission would have accomplished. The space agency has several proposed moon missions. Artemis Mission is prominent among them. Under this, preparations are being made to send humans to the moon once again.