NASA Has a Badass Moon Rover but No Way to Get It to the Moon

NASA’s VIPER is designed to search for water ice around the Moon’s south pole. But instead of exploring the lunar terrain, the fully assembled four-wheeled robot is in storage at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. After canceling its VIPER mission last year, NASA is still searching for alternatives to launch its lunar rover, and the agency just took another step backward in making it happen. NASA canceled a solicitation for partnership proposals it had sent out earlier this year, calling on the private sector to take over its VIPER mission. This week, the agency announced it would explore alternative options to deliver its lunar rover to the Moon. “We appreciate the efforts of those who proposed to the Lunar Volatiles Science Partnership Announcement for Partnership Proposals call,” Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement. “We look forward to accomplishing future volatiles science with VIPER as we continue NASA’s Moon to Mars exp ... Read full article.