NASA Looking for Partners in VIPER Mission

NASA is reaching out for proposals from organizations interested in taking over the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER), despite the rover being nearly complete. This follows NASA's announcement in July that it planned to cancel the mission due to development delays and budget issues in its science programs.

On August 9, NASA issued a Request for Information (RFI) for the VIPER rover, inviting U.S. companies and organizations to outline how they would handle the rover's operation. The rover was initially slated to explore water ice deposits near the lunar south pole, but NASA’s budget constraints and the projected $84 million cost savings led to its cancellation.

Interested partners are asked to detail their plans for completing the rover’s systems testing, integrating it for a lunar landing, conducting the science mission, and sharing the results openly. NASA emphasized that any partner must keep the rover intact and use it for its intended mission rather than disassembling it for separate components.

NASA’s goal with this RFI is to maximize the use of the existing technology and knowledge from the VIPER project to advance lunar science without affecting other planned lunar missions. Despite the rover being almost ready, there’s concern in the lunar science community about losing the unique scientific opportunities VIPER offers.

The RFI responses are due by September 2, and NASA will also consider international partnerships through separate avenues. The rover has already completed vibration and acoustic testing and is set to undergo thermal vacuum testing, with expectations to finish by October 2024. The scientific community remains hopeful that the rover’s mission could still be salvaged through these new partnership opportunities.