NASA’s Abandoned Moon Bot Might Get a Rescue Mission From a Lunar Startup

Intuitive Machines is looking to instrumentality implicit a four-wheeled lunar rover aft NASA called disconnected its planned travel to the Moon owed to fund constraints.

The Houston-based institution is putting unneurotic a effect to a request from NASA seeking involvement from organizations that would privation to spouse with the abstraction bureau connected sending its rover to the Moon, institution officials revealed successful a caller net call. NASA would supply its water-hunting robot arsenic is, and the selected institution oregon enactment would bash each the remainder to onshore the ngo connected the Moon and code immoderate oregon each of its subject objectives.

VIPER, oregon Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, was designed to find and survey h2o crystal connected the Moon’s southbound pole. The $450 cardinal ngo was scheduled for motorboat successful September 2025 connected committee Astrobotic’s Griffin lander, which was meant to present the rover to the Moon nether a Commercial Lunar Payload Services task order. The ngo suffered respective proviso concatenation delays and NASA precocious decided to cancel VIPER’s lunar journey retired of fearfulness that it would disrupt different commercialized payload missions to the Moon.

NASA, erstwhile it archetypal broke the news, revealed that it would disassemble the VIPER rover and usage its parts for aboriginal missions. The decision, however, sparked outrage from the subject assemblage implicit the nonaccomplishment of the precious robot. In response, NASA abruptly enactment unneurotic a telephone for organizations to instrumentality implicit its lunar robot and nonstop it to the Moon.

Intuitive Machines stepped up to the plate; it’s presently moving with different companies, probe organizations, and planetary partners to respond to NASA’s petition for information, SpaceNews reported based connected the net call. “Our presumption determination is that VIPER subject is important to lunar scientists and the aboriginal of the Artemis program, and it’s precise important successful presumption of prospecting for volatiles and entrained h2o crystal successful the soil,” Steve Altemus, main enforcement of Intuitive Machines, is quoted arsenic saying connected the call.

The institution is nary alien to the Moon. Intuitive Machines launched its Odysseus lander successful February arsenic portion of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. The lunar lander managed to touchdown connected the lunar surface, but its landing wasn’t truthful smooth. Odysseus apt got 1 of its legs caught during its descent, causing it to extremity implicit connected its broadside and perchance extremity up laying connected a rock.

Hopefully, it’ll person amended luck with VIPER. During the call, Intuitive Machines officials revealed that the lunar rover could thrust connected committee its upcoming Nova-D lander (which is presently inactive successful development). The rover would past motorboat sometime successful precocious 2027.

NASA has done astir of the enactment gathering the robot, though the abstraction bureau has made it wide it volition not walk immoderate much wealth connected its canceled lunar mission. “The intent is that immoderate concern person minimal to nary further outgo to NASA,” the abstraction bureau wrote successful its petition for information. Additionally, should Intuitive Machines beryllium selected to instrumentality implicit VIPER, NASA wants its spouse to reimburse it for of immoderate capabilities, including further investigating of the rover, payload preparation, and subject squad support.

NASA has turned to the backstage assemblage for assistance before. In 2018, the abstraction bureau called disconnected the Lunar Resources Prospector (LRP), different lunar rover with akin objectives. However, aft rolling retired its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, NASA promised to alert LRP connected a aboriginal backstage ngo to the Moon.

The quality of VIPER’s cancellation was arsenic disappointing, but hopefully some missions inactive get to touchdown connected the lunar aboveground successful the future.

More: How Small Teams astatine Intuitive Machines Are Solving Big Lunar Challenges