NASA's VIPER Moon Mission Revived With Help From Blue Origin

NASA's VIPER Moon Mission Revived: A New Lease on Lunar Exploration In a surprising turn of events, NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission, previously scrapped due to escalating costs, has been given a second chance. The space agency has announced that Blue Origin, the spaceflight company founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos, will take the reins in devising a new VIPER mission plan under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. The VIPER mission, initially slated for cancellation last July, had been years in the making, with significant investment and development already underway.

The rover's primary objective is to explore the lunar South Pole's extreme environment, venturing into small, permanently shadowed regions to gather crucial insights into the moon's environment. These findings will inform future landing sites for astronauts and contribute to a deeper understanding of the lunar terrain, essential for sustaining human presence over extended periods.

Blue Origin's in-development Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) robotic lander will play a pivotal role in the revived mission, potentially embarking on its maiden lunar flight later this year to deliver a NASA payload to the moon's South Pole region.

The VIPER moon mission scrapped by NASA last year could be going ahead after all thanks to Blue Origin, the space agency has announced.

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