NASA’s Moon Rover Could Be Resurrected by Intuitive Machines

Lunar scientists were shocked and dismayed last month when NASA announced it was canceling work on its lunar rover, VIPER. The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover was supposed to search for evidence of water at the moon’s south pole, but NASA said it had to abandon the project because of rising costs.

This week, an open letter to Congress called the cancellation of the mission “unprecedented and indefensible” and questioned NASA’s claim that canceling the mission would not affect plans to send humans to the moon. Scientists argued that the mission was fundamental to understanding the presence of water on the moon, a key resource for human exploration, as well as a matter of scientific interest.

The VIPER mission may now have the opportunity to take a different form. Intuitive Machines, the company that successfully launched a lunar landing mission earlier this year, has said it wants to take over the rover mission and launch it using its own lander.

“Our position is that VIPER science is important to lunar scientists and to the future of the Artemis program, and it’s very important in terms of prospecting for volatiles and entrained water ice,” said Steve Altemus, chief executive of Intuitive Machines, as reported by SpaceNews.

NASA has expressed interest in handing off the VIPER mission to a commercial partner, which would likely be preferable to losing all the work done so far on the rover. Altemus said his company is studying the costs of completing the rover and is working with other partners such as companies or universities. He did not specify what other organizations are involved.

If Intuitive Machines were to take over VIPER, it could use its Nova-D lander to take it to the moon, as the Nova-D is still in development, but its payload capacity is greater than that of the Nova-C lander that touched down on the moon earlier this year. The mission’s planned launch date is late 2027, and news from NASA on the mission’s future is expected next month.