In an unusual move that in this particular case has broader implications, especially with regard to the race that began to conquer the Moon and sovereignty over their lands and wealth-producing resources NASA announced that it is suspending the VIPER mission scheduled for launch next November.
VIPER was scheduled to land near the rim of the large Nobile crater, which is 45 miles (73 kilometers) across at the Moon’s south pole. Much of the crater remains almost permanently shadowed by the Sun, raising the possibility of discovering the water ice that was the mission’s primary goal.
The detection and subsequent use of lunar water is a crucial factor in the effort to ensure that man remains permanently on our natural satellite, since the local water could supply drinking water to the bases and later other facilities that will be created there, and oxygen or hydrogen for each use, such as, for example, to create rocket fuel.
The rover was built by the American company Astrobotic and cost $200 million to build, along with the launch cost, with the total cost estimated at more than $400 million. The 450-kilogram solar-powered rover, about the size of a golf cart, would use drills, three spectrometers and other chemical detection equipment to locate water ice deposits up to a meter below the lunar surface.
It would also carry out geological studies to record data on lunar materials and minerals that could be useful to humans at various levels (local use, commercial exploitation, etc.).
The cause and the winner
NASA States that continued delays in completing its construction and testing had steadily increased costs, and it was feared that a delay in the planned launch date (there had been a previous delay) would make the mission uneconomical. NASA decided that it would either reach an agreement with a private company willing to use the rover or dismantle it and use its various instruments and mechanical parts as equipment for other space missions.
This decision is, according to analysts, a clear setback in the race to conquer the Moon, in which the last period of time seems to be taking the lead. China with the continued success of robotic explorer missions, at a time when the great US goal of resuming manned missions to the Moon through the Artemis program is constantly being delayed, which raises reasonable suspicions that Beijing, which knows how to keep its ambitious and comprehensive space program very well hidden from the program, will probably be the first to send its taikonauts, as China calls astronauts, to the surface of our natural satellite.
China, among others, has created an alliance with Russia, to which several countries are constantly being added, with the aim of creating a large manned base on the Moon. At the same time, the US-Europe-Canada-Japan space alliance has turned its attention to creating a space station around the Moon, the Lunar Gateway, the construction of which is also experiencing significant delays.
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