VIPER Archives - SpaceNews https://spacenews.com/tag/viper/ Covering the business and politics of space Sun, 26 Oct 2025 14:22:37 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://spacenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/cropped-SN_forza_star-32x32.png VIPER Archives - SpaceNews https://spacenews.com/tag/viper/ 32 32 80681979 Astrobotic delays Griffin-1 lander mission to mid-2026 https://spacenews.com/astrobotic-delays-griffin-1-lander-mission-to-mid-2026/ https://spacenews.com/astrobotic-delays-griffin-1-lander-mission-to-mid-2026/#respond Sun, 26 Oct 2025 14:22:34 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=557741 Griffin-1

Astrobotic Technology says it now plans to launch its large lunar lander carrying a commercial rover no earlier than mid-2026.

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Blue Origin only bidder for new VIPER lander award https://spacenews.com/blue-origin-only-bidder-for-new-viper-lander-award/ https://spacenews.com/blue-origin-only-bidder-for-new-viper-lander-award/#respond Wed, 24 Sep 2025 02:22:21 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=553188 Blue Moon and VIPER

Blue Origin was the sole bidder for a NASA task order that revived a canceled lunar rover mission.

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NASA revives VIPER lunar rover mission with Blue Origin lander award https://spacenews.com/nasa-revives-viper-lunar-rover-mission-with-blue-origin-lander-award/ https://spacenews.com/nasa-revives-viper-lunar-rover-mission-with-blue-origin-lander-award/#respond Sat, 20 Sep 2025 06:07:43 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=552633 Blue Moon and VIPER

NASA has revived a robotic lunar rover mission by selecting Blue Origin to deliver it to the moon’s south pole in 2027.

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NASA backtracks on VIPER commercial partnership https://spacenews.com/nasa-backtracks-on-viper-commercial-partnership/ https://spacenews.com/nasa-backtracks-on-viper-commercial-partnership/#respond Thu, 08 May 2025 11:47:06 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=517185 The VIPER lunar rover.

NASA has canceled plans to find a commercial partner to launch a robotic lunar rover and will instead pursue “alternative approaches” to fly the mission.

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CLPS companies seek expanded opportunities for commercial lunar landers https://spacenews.com/clps-companies-seek-expanded-opportunities-for-commercial-lunar-landers/ https://spacenews.com/clps-companies-seek-expanded-opportunities-for-commercial-lunar-landers/#respond Wed, 02 Apr 2025 10:34:24 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=515424 Blue Ghost 1 shadow

Lunar lander companies want NASA to revise and expand its approach to buy services as Congress raises questions about NASA’s handling of VIPER.

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NASA hails Blue Ghost 1 mission as “proof positive” of CLPS program https://spacenews.com/nasa-hails-blue-ghost-1-mission-as-proof-positive-of-clps-program/ https://spacenews.com/nasa-hails-blue-ghost-1-mission-as-proof-positive-of-clps-program/#respond Fri, 14 Mar 2025 09:19:47 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=514487 Blue Ghost 1 shadow

NASA says its program to use commercial spacecraft to deliver payloads to the lunar surface is working well despite just a single fully successful landing in four attempts.

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NASA requests industry proposals for VIPER lunar rover partnership https://spacenews.com/nasa-requests-industry-proposals-for-viper-lunar-rover-partnership/ https://spacenews.com/nasa-requests-industry-proposals-for-viper-lunar-rover-partnership/#respond Tue, 04 Feb 2025 12:46:45 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=512427 The VIPER lunar rover.

NASA is moving ahead with plans to partner with a company to deliver a rover to the surface of the moon after the agency canceled the mission last year.

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NASA outlines impacts of VIPER on CLPS lunar lander program https://spacenews.com/nasa-outlines-impacts-of-viper-on-clps-lunar-lander-program/ https://spacenews.com/nasa-outlines-impacts-of-viper-on-clps-lunar-lander-program/#respond Wed, 27 Nov 2024 03:33:57 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=509434 The VIPER lunar rover.

NASA estimated it would have to cancel up to four commercial lunar lander missions and delay up to four more to fly a rover mission the agency announced in July it planned to cancel.

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NASA evaluating “next steps” for VIPER lunar rover mission https://spacenews.com/nasa-evaluating-next-steps-for-viper-lunar-rover-mission/ https://spacenews.com/nasa-evaluating-next-steps-for-viper-lunar-rover-mission/#respond Tue, 05 Nov 2024 02:24:54 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=508051 The VIPER lunar rover.

NASA expects to determine by early next year the next steps for a lunar rover mission it canceled in July amid some confusion over the timing of that decision.

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NASA’s cancellation of VIPER cedes leadership in lunar exploration  https://spacenews.com/nasas-cancellation-viper-cedes-leadership-lunar-exploration/ https://spacenews.com/nasas-cancellation-viper-cedes-leadership-lunar-exploration/#respond Mon, 23 Sep 2024 15:00:00 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=506232 The VIPER lunar rover.

Two months ago, NASA cancelled VIPER, a science rover mission to the moon’s south pole to explore for water ice. This decision was made despite the fact that the rover […]

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Valve problem blamed for Peregrine lunar lander failure https://spacenews.com/valve-problem-blamed-for-peregrine-lunar-lander-failure/ https://spacenews.com/valve-problem-blamed-for-peregrine-lunar-lander-failure/#respond Tue, 27 Aug 2024 17:31:50 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=504900 Peregrine Earth

Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander was unable to make it to the moon because of a failure of a single valve, leading to work to redesign the valve and overall propulsion system on the company’s larger Griffin lander.

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Intuitive Machines seeks to take over NASA’s VIPER lunar rover https://spacenews.com/intuitive-machines-seeks-to-take-over-nasas-viper-lunar-rover/ https://spacenews.com/intuitive-machines-seeks-to-take-over-nasas-viper-lunar-rover/#respond Wed, 14 Aug 2024 00:46:03 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=498619 VIPER at JSC

Intuitive Machines says it is organizing a coalition of organizations that will offer to take over a NASA lunar rover mission, launching it on one of the company’s landers.

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NASA to soon resume awards of lunar lander missions https://spacenews.com/nasa-to-soon-resume-awards-of-lunar-lander-missions/ https://spacenews.com/nasa-to-soon-resume-awards-of-lunar-lander-missions/#respond Fri, 02 Aug 2024 11:46:49 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=498038 Griffin lander

NASA plans to soon make its first robotic lunar lander awards in more than a year as the agency and the industry grapple with uncertainty in the overall program linked to the cancellation of a rover mission.

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Senate spending bill pushes back on proposed NASA mission cuts https://spacenews.com/senate-spending-bill-pushes-back-on-proposed-nasa-mission-cuts/ https://spacenews.com/senate-spending-bill-pushes-back-on-proposed-nasa-mission-cuts/#respond Sun, 28 Jul 2024 19:22:30 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=497722 OSAM-1

A Senate appropriations bill closely follows the administration’s request for NASA in fiscal year 2025 but with provisions about several missions the agency is seeking to cancel or curtail.

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NASA cancels VIPER lunar rover https://spacenews.com/nasa-cancels-viper-lunar-rover/ https://spacenews.com/nasa-cancels-viper-lunar-rover/#respond Thu, 18 Jul 2024 02:37:53 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=497247 The VIPER lunar rover.

NASA has canceled a robotic lunar rover mission that would have searched for ice at the south pole of the moon, citing development delays and cost overruns.

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Astrobotic to begin formal investigation into failed Peregrine mission https://spacenews.com/astrobotic-to-begin-formal-investigation-into-failed-peregrine-mission/ https://spacenews.com/astrobotic-to-begin-formal-investigation-into-failed-peregrine-mission/#respond Sat, 20 Jan 2024 00:03:52 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=229530 Peregrine Earth

With the Peregrine lunar lander mission now complete, Astrobotic is turning its attention to understanding what went wrong with the spacecraft and incorporating any changes into a much larger lander for NASA.

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NASA’s Moon Rover Prototype Conquers Steep, Scary Lander Exit Test https://spacenews.com/nasas-moon-rover-prototype-conquers-steep-scary-lander-exit-test/ Sat, 01 Jul 2023 21:12:00 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=209469 Antoine Tardy, VIPER rover egress driver, adjusts the cables that power and send commands to the VIPER test unit as engineers practice its exit/descent from the model Griffin lunar lander at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. Credits: NASA/Dominic Hart

NASA’s VIPER – short for Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover – recently completed another successful round of rigorous tests of the agency’s first robotic Moon rover’s ability to drive off […]

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NASA Begins Building VIPER, Its First Robotic Moon Rover https://spacenews.com/nasa-begins-building-viper-its-first-robotic-moon-rover/ Wed, 15 Mar 2023 00:10:24 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=207088 VIPER

NASA’s first robotic lunar rover is officially coming together and the team building it is over the Moon. “I’m super excited…it makes me very proud of all the time and […]

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MSOLO Science Instrument For VIPER Arrives At Johnson Space Center https://spacenews.com/msolo-science-instrument-for-viper-arrives-at-johnson-space-center/ Tue, 14 Mar 2023 00:54:16 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=207044 Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO)

A modified commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer built to withstand the harsh lunar environment safely arrived at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Monday, Feb. 27. The Mass Spectrometer Observing […]

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NASA Delays Mission VIPER Moon Rover Launch To 2024 https://spacenews.com/nasa-delays-mission-viper-moon-rover-launch-to-2024/ Tue, 19 Jul 2022 17:56:32 +0000 https://spaceref.com/?p=201449 The VIPER lunar rover.

NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative allows rapid acquisition of lunar delivery services from American companies for payloads that advance capabilities for science, exploration or commercial development of the […]

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NASA delays VIPER lunar rover launch by a year https://spacenews.com/nasa-delays-viper-lunar-rover-launch-by-a-year/ Tue, 19 Jul 2022 11:01:25 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=129672 VIPER atop Griffin lander

NASA has delayed the launch of an ice-prospecting lunar rover by a year to perform more testing of its commercial lander, the agency announced July 18.

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China targets permanently shadowed regions at lunar south pole https://spacenews.com/china-targets-permanently-shadowed-regions-at-lunar-south-pole/ https://spacenews.com/china-targets-permanently-shadowed-regions-at-lunar-south-pole/#respond Fri, 27 May 2022 12:41:17 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=128157

China is looking to land spacecraft near permanently shadowed regions near the south pole of the moon to investigate the potential presence of resources trapped in craters.

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NASA picks landing site for VIPER lunar rover https://spacenews.com/nasa-picks-landing-site-for-viper-lunar-rover/ Tue, 21 Sep 2021 11:24:53 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=119166 VIPER

NASA has selected a crater near the south pole of the moon as the landing site for a robotic rover to search for water ice that could be a resource for future human expeditions.

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Astrobotic selects Falcon Heavy to launch NASA’s VIPER lunar rover https://spacenews.com/astrobotic-selects-falcon-heavy-to-launch-nasas-viper-lunar-rover/ Tue, 13 Apr 2021 13:00:36 +0000 https://spacenews.com/?p=113253 SpaceX Falcon Heavy

Astrobotic has signed a contract with SpaceX for the launch of its Griffin lunar lander, carrying a NASA lunar rover, on a Falcon Heavy in 2023.

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