NASA cancels moon rover mission after spending $450 million on development

After spending $450 million to build a water-seeking moon rover, NASA announced on Wednesday, July 17, it is scrapping the mission because of increased costs and launch delays. The agency said that the move will save it an estimated $84 million in developmental costs.

NASA said that the decision to cancel the mission was purely budget-based and that all tests to this point had been successful. At the time of the cancellation announcement, the rover, called the VIPER, was reportedly undergoing environmental testing and the vehicle was completely assembled.

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The VIPER remains completely assembled and NASA said that its parts may be used for future missions to the moon. However, the agency said that it will first determine if industry partners are interested in the rover “as-is.”

The VIPER rover had aimed to explore the moon’s south pole in search of ice deposits, spending a total of 100 days on the lunar surface.

Originally scheduled to launch last year, the liftoff date had been rescheduled until 2025 aboard the Astrobotic Griffin Lander.

The announcement came just days before the 55th anniversary of the first humans ever landing on the moon. On July 20, 1969, Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to land and walk on the moon.

Meanwhile, the lander is still scheduled to launch without the rover by the end of 2025. The company that owns the lander had its first launch end in failure as the rocket became engulfed in flames and plunged into the South Pacific.