NASA Cancels VIPER Mission, China Makes Lunar Breakthrough: Who Will Conquer the Moon First?

The race to the moon 2.0 is heating up, and it's anyone's game.

The space agencies are at it again, this time with their eyes on the moon. NASA, the so-called "leaders" in space exploration, had big plans to send a rover to the moon's south pole to find water ice. Their half-billion-dollar VIPER project [https://www.nasa.gov/viper] was meant to pave the way for future crewed missions and eventually, journeys to Mars. But, in true NASA fashion, they screwed it up.

NASA's VIPER Mission Bites the Dust

After spending $450 million and facing multiple delays, NASA scrapped the VIPER launch in July. [https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-ends-viper-project-continues-moon-exploration/] They claimed they're still committed to exploring the moon as part of their Artemis campaign, but come on, we all know NASA loves to talk a big game. Meanwhile, China is making moves and giving NASA a run for their money.

China's Lunar Breakthrough

While NASA was busy failing, Chinese scientists made a potentially groundbreaking discovery. They analyzed soil samples brought back by their Chang'e-5 probe in 2020 and found water and minerals. [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-024-02306-8] This could be a huge deal for future lunar habitation, and China is looking to send astronauts to the moon by 2030.

The Race to Study Water on the Moon

The presence of water ice on the lunar south pole is a big deal. It could help sustain astronauts and provide rocket fuel. NASA had planned to send VIPER on a 100-day mission to explore and map water ice, but now that's out the window. The Planetary Society is butthurt about it, writing a letter to Congress urging them to intervene. [https://www.planetary.org/press-releases/the-science-community-takes-action-after-viper-mission-cancellation]

NASA's Other Lunar Plans

Luckily for NASA, they have other projects in the works. They're paying private companies billions to carry scientific payloads on private robotic landers, like the PRIME-1, which will search for water ice at the south pole by 2024. [https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-chooses-companies-to-study-human-lunar-landers-habitat] Nicola Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said, “The agency has an array of missions planned to look for ice and other resources on the moon over the next five years. Our path forward will make maximum use of the technology and work that went into VIPER.”

Artemis Delays and Controversy

Of course, it's not all smooth sailing for NASA's Artemis program. It's been delayed and criticized for its cost. NASA had planned to send astronauts into orbit by the end of the year and land on the moon in 2025, but now both missions are pushed back at least a year. Typical NASA, am I right?

SpaceX to the Rescue

On a positive note, SpaceX had a successful test of its Starship rocket, which will ferry astronauts to the moon. Maybe private companies will show NASA how it's done.

So, who will win the race to the moon? It's anyone's guess at this point. NASA might want to step up their game if they want to stay in the running.
Written by Eric Lagatta, resident space nerd and wannabe astronaut. Hit me up at elagatta@gannett.com