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why did NASA cancel the VIPER lunar rover will Congress rescue the VIPER lunar rover who is Congress is trying to save the VIPER lunar rover what companies want to take over the VIPER lunar rover will Intuitive Machines take over the VIPER lunar rover

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Posted: September 11, 2024 4:36 pm ET | Last Updated: September 12, 2024 9:52 am ET | Congress is asking questions about why NASA decided to cancel the VIPER lunar rover even though it already built. NASA is concerned about cost growth at a time when its science mission directorate is under financial stress, but cancelling a rover that is already built is raising eyebrows.

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NASA Evaluating 11 VIPER Proposals as Congress Asks Questions – SpacePolicyOnline.com SPACEPOLICYONLINE.COM News Topics Civil Military Commercial International Space Law Reports SpacePolicyOnline.com Hearing Summaries Meeting Summaries Fact Sheets NAS | GAO | Others  National Academies Government Accountability Office Other Reports of Interest Other Resources About Us Contact Us SpacePolicyOnline.com Your first stop for news, information and analysis about civil, military and commercial space programs NASA Evaluating 11 VIPER Proposals as Congress Asks Questions NASA Evaluating 11 VIPER Proposals as Congress Asks Questions By Marcia Smith | Posted: September 11, 2024 4:36 pm ET | Last Updated: September 12, 2024 9:52 am ET NASA is evaluating 11 responses from organizations large and small that might want to take over the VIPER lunar rover project. NASA intends to cancel VIPER because of cost growth even though the rover is completely built. Meanwhile, the bipartisan leadership of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee is asking NASA questions about the decision and wants a reply by September 20. NASA’s abrupt announcement of VIPER’s cancellation on July 17 caught everyone by surprise. NASA has often heralded the information that the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover will provide about the location and quantity of water ice at the Moon’s south pole. The agency describes the water resource map VIPER data would produce as “a critical step forward for NASA’s Artemis missions to establish a long-term presence on the surface of the Moon.” Illustration of NASA’s VIPER rover rolling off Astrobotic’s Griffin lander on the Moon. Credit: Astrobotic Equipped with three scientific instruments and a drill, the rover was to be delivered to the Moon by a commercial lander, Griffin, built by Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. Astrobotic and several other companies have CLPS contracts to deliver NASA science and technology experiments to the Moon. NASA pays for delivery services for its payloads. The companies are expected to find non-NASA customers to close the business case. NASA is paying Astrobotic $323 million for landing services on top of the cost of VIPER itself. NASA’s commitment to Congress was that VIPER would cost $433.5 million with landing in 2023. By the beginning of this year, that had become $505.4 million with landing in 2024. Then Astrobotic’s first CLPS mission failed to reach the Moon in January because of a propulsion system failure. That was a different, smaller lander, Peregrine, and the NASA payloads that were aboard were extremely modest compared with the multi-million dollar VIPER.  NASA decided it wanted more tests of Griffin’s propulsion system, delaying the launch to September 2025 and increasing the cost estimate to $609.6 million. Facing extremely constrained Science Mission Directorate budgets in the near-term and budget uncertainty after that, NASA called it quits on VIPER in part because they’re not sure Astrobotic will have Griffin ready to go by September 2025 despite Astrobotic’s assurances. Any further delays will raise the cost even more. However, NASA will still pay Astrobotic to send Griffin to the Moon carrying whatever non-NASA payloads the company can obtain. NASA offered to provide a mass simulator to replace VIPER, but it is not clear if Astrobotic wants it. The lander belongs to Astrobotic, not the government. The rover is completely built and going through testing right now. Acoustic and vibration testing is complete. Thermal vacuum testing is the final step and that will be done in October. The VIPER rover undergoing vibration testing at Johnson Space Center. Credit: presentation by Anthony Colaprete at the NASA Exploration Science Forum, July 23, 2024. Screengrab The agency has spent $450 million on VIPER already and cancelling the mission is only expected to save $84 million. Added to the $323 million they still are paying Astrobotic, the venture will cost taxpayers $773 million for no scientific return. Many in the lunar science community are hoping Congress will overturn the decision, but NASA also is inviting companies and international partners to take over the program as long as no more NASA money is required. If no one st

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