Next NASA bankruptcy: Moon rover scrapped – DIGITAL TELEVISION

Things are not going well at NASA: The next planned manned landing on the moon had to be postponed recently, and an additional rover that had been planned has now been canceled completely.

The US space agency NASA will not be sending a rover to the moon for the time being. After “extensive internal review,” the project called “Viper” (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) will be terminated, NASA announced at a press conference. The space agency cited the increase in costs that has already occurred and may continue to occur in the future, as well as the delay in the launch date, as reasons for this. NASA offers an extensive photo gallery here.

The rover, which was already largely built, was actually supposed to land on the moon in 2022. A launch towards the end of this year was then planned. Most recently, NASA had assumed September 2025. The “Viper” robot was supposed to roll around the south pole of the moon and take soil samples with a drill. The launch was supposed to take place with the help of the private space company Astrobotic.

The rover will now be dismantled and the parts used for other purposes, NASA said. “Our path forward will maximize the technology and work that went into Viper, while preserving important funds to support our robust lunar portfolio,” said NASA manager Nicola Fox.

Nasa pursues ambitious moon program

With the “Artemis” program, named after the Greek goddess of the moon, NASA wants to bring people to the moon for the first time in more than half a century – including the first non-white person and the first woman. The long-term goal of “Artemis” is to build a permanent lunar base as a basis for missions to Mars.

However, NASA had to postpone the manned lunar orbit “Artemis 2”, originally planned for November 2024, to September 2025 due to problems with the rocket and spacecraft, and the planned manned lunar landing “Artemis 3” to September 2026. There is competitive pressure from China, which wants to put people on the moon by 2030.