NASA introduced the tip of the Viper (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) mission on Wednesday. The choice was pushed by rising prices and repeated launch delays. The mission had already consumed about $450 million.
VIPER’S MISSION AND OBJECTIVES
Viper was a part of NASA’s Artemis program and was designed to discover the South Pole of the Moon. Its predominant purpose was to seek for ice and different assets, that are essential for future crewed missions deliberate later this decade. The rover was anticipated to pave the way in which for a sustainable human presence on the Moon.
Launch delays and rising prices
Initially scheduled for a 2023 launch on a lander powered by Astrobotic Know-how, VIPER’s deployment was delayed till late 2024 to permit for added preflight testing of the Griffin lander car. The car was equipped by Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic underneath NASA’s Industrial Lunar Payload Companies (CLPS) program. With the launch date pushed again to September 2025, the price of the mission is projected to rise to $609.6 million.
Venture completion and future plans
Joel Kearns, deputy affiliate administrator for analysis in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, indicated that though the rover was “totally assembled,” it had not but undergone the mandatory assessments to make sure it might face up to launch circumstances. .
Transferring ahead, NASA plans to decommission VIPER and repurpose its devices and elements for future lunar missions. This method is meant to preserve valuable assets and advance NASA’s targets for lunar exploration regardless of the mission’s cancellation.
