– NASA is canceling its $450 million lunar rover called VIPER, which was meant to study water ice deposits on the Moon’s South Pole.
– The fully built rover was scheduled to launch aboard a private lander developed by Astrobotic for $323 million.
– Instead of VIPER, NASA will send a “mass simulator” – a hunk of material weighing the same as the rover but with no functioning parts.
– NASA said costs for VIPER had ballooned and further testing could push costs past $600 million, eating into budgets for other lunar missions.
– Scientists are shocked and disappointed as VIPER was expected to provide key data for future crewed lunar missions.
– Critics argue NASA lacks funding due to budget cuts, receiving $2.3 billion less than requested, and may not be able to afford ambitious programs like the Mars Sample Return mission.
– Scrapping the already-built $450 million rover in favor of dead weight is a bad look that could lead scientists to lobby Congress to reverse the decision.
Source: Futurism
