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Science community takes action after VIPER mission cancellation

“The decision to cancel the project at this stage, after spending $450 million, is both unprecedented and indefensible.”

For Immediate Release
July 23, 2024

Contact
Danielle Gunn
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +1-626-793-5100

Washington, D.C. (July 23, 2024) — Following NASA’s announcement of its intent to cancel the VIPER mission to the Moon’s south pole, the lunar and planetary science community is rallying together to urge Congress to reverse the decision.

This morning, The Planetary Society helped circulate a letter signed by 1,000 individuals from the lunar and planetary science community to more than 200 key congressional staffers. The letter urges Congress to intervene, emphasizing the importance of VIPER for future lunar exploration and scientific discovery.

The letter highlights VIPER as “a groundbreaking American project” that will find and study water ice on and below the Moon’s surface. It explains that the research is crucial for future human exploration and scientific research, aligning with high-priority objectives outlined in the Planetary Science Decadal Survey, and that the mission is also a crucial part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. The letter emphasizes, “The decision to cancel the project at this stage, after spending $450 million, is both unprecedented and indefensible.”

VIPER Community Letter [PDF download]

The Planetary Society’s Chief of Space Policy Casey Dreier has published a comprehensive analysis on the cancellation. Dreier points out that the team behind VIPER was not provided an opportunity to propose cost-saving measures to keep the project viable.

Press Resources

Casey Dreier, chief of space policy, is available for interviews. Please arrange with Danielle Gunn, chief communications officer, at [email protected].

Visual assets:

The VIPER spacecraft undergoing environmental testing at Johnson Space Center
The VIPER spacecraft undergoing environmental testing at Johnson Space Center Image: NASA
VIPER lunar rover
VIPER lunar rover Artist's concept of NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER. VIPER is a mobile robot that will roam around the Moon’s south pole looking for water ice.Image: NASA Ames / Daniel Rutter
Engineering model of VIPER
Engineering model of VIPER A prototype model of NASA’s VIPER rover, reduced to its mobility elements, being tested in an adjustable bin containing lunar soil simulantImage: NASA/Bridget Caswell, Alcyon Technical Services

Written resources:

The VIPER spacecraft undergoing environmental testing at Johnson Space Center

For parts: Lunar rover, never used

NASA has canceled VIPER, a rover designed to seek out water ice and other resources in the lunar south pole.

VIPER lunar rover

VIPER, NASA’s Moon resource mapper

NASA is launching the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, in 2025 to map water on the Moon’s south pole.

About The Planetary Society

With a global community of more than 2 million space enthusiasts, The Planetary Society is the world’s largest and most influential space advocacy organization. Founded in 1980 by Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray, and Louis Friedman and today led by CEO Bill Nye, we empower the public to take a meaningful role in advancing space exploration through advocacy, education outreach, scientific innovation, and global collaboration. Together with our members and supporters, we’re on a mission to explore worlds, find life off Earth, and protect our planet from dangerous asteroids. To learn more, visit www.planetary.org.

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