NASA delays VIPER rover mission to the Moon to November 2024 citing additional testing

NASA, on July 19, announced that it has delayed the delivery of its Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) by a year to carry out additional tests. Originally targeted for launch in November 2023, the mission will now be delivered to the Moon in November 2024. The testing would be conducted to validate the Griffin lunar lander, which would carry the rover inside of it. NASA says that the tests will be aimed at reducing the overall risk of VIPER’s delivery to the Moon.

NASA had contracted the US-based company Astrobotic for the development of the rover under its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, wherein American companies will deliver payloads to the Moon and support NASA’s plan to establish a sustainable base on the lunar surface.

“Through CLPS, NASA has tasked U.S. companies to perform a very challenging technological feat – to successfully land and operate on the Moon,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration in NASA's Science Mission Directorate said in a statement.

The US space agency informed that it approached Astrobotic and VIPER mission teams to extend the timeline for VIPER’s delivery to the Moon and has added an additional $67.8 million to Astrobotic’s CLPS contract, which now totals $320.4 million. "VIPER is NASA’s largest and most sophisticated science payload to be delivered to the Moon through CLPS, and we've implemented enhanced lander testing for this particular CLPS surface delivery", Kearns added.

What would the VIPER do?

The rover is being developed to examine the Moon’s south pole and gain insights into the origin and distribution of water on the lunar surface. According to NASA, VIPER would also help determine how the Moon’s resources could be harvested for future human space exploration. After its launch in 2024, VIPER will land on the Nobile crater of the Moon, which falls under one of the coldest regions on the lunar surface. 

During its 100 days of operation, the rover would examine an area of 93 square kilometres in the Nobile region and will collect samples from at least three drill locations. What’s more, is that the samples collected will be analysed to take measurements for the presence of water and other resources in the undiscovered south pole.