NASA has announced plans to partner with private companies to revive its VIPER rover mission, which was initially canceled due to budget concerns. The original $450 million mission aimed to search for water ice near the moon’s south pole and assess potentially life-supporting resources.
However, NASA decided to cancel the program in July 2024, saving about $84 million in development costs. Now, the agency is seeking proposals from US companies to collaborate on VIPER, a rover that will help advance commercial lunar landing capabilities and resource prospecting possibilities.
Under the partnership, NASA will provide the already-assembled moon rover, while the selected company will be responsible for integrating the rover with its own spacecraft, conducting a science/exploration campaign, and disseminating the data. The goal is to make a final decision on the partnership by this summer.
The potential partners would benefit from advancing their lunar landing and surface operations capabilities. By working together, NASA aims to collect valuable scientific data that could reveal more about water on the moon and its resource prospects.
Source: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/moon-rovers/viper-back-from-the-dead-nasa-asks-us-companies-to-partner-on-ice-hunting-moon-rover