Expert Q&A: NASA’s cancellation of VIPER is a frustrating setback for lunar exploration

In July 2024, NASA introduced it canceled its plans to ship the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) to the moon’s southern polar area. The rover was meant to seek for water and different assets referred to as volatiles, resembling hydrogen, ammonia and carbon dioxide, which simply evaporate in heat temperatures.

Nicola Fox, affiliate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, reiterated the company’s dedication “to exploring the moon for the advantage of humanity” via different missions.

Fifty-five years have handed since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made an enormous leap for mankind. Clive Neal, professor of civil and environmental engineering and Earth sciences on the College of Notre Dame and an knowledgeable in lunar exploration, mentioned dropping the VIPER program is one other irritating setback for U.S.-led efforts to discover the moon.

Neal solutions 5 questions on this system and lunar exploration beneath.

What was the objective of the VIPER program and why was it essential?

Nicely, it is the one risky prospecting mission that NASA has. NASA desires to ship people again to the moon—U.S. coverage states NASA shall “prolong human financial exercise into deep space by establishing a everlasting human presence on the moon.”

We’ll want life-support consumables in situ to try this—water, hydrogen, oxygen—so we have to know the place these life-supporting consumables are. You do not wish to put a base for people within the improper place—you want water and different consumables to be accessible.

Subsequently, we have to understand how a lot is there? Can we extract it? Can we entry it? Is there reserve potential on this useful resource? That’s critically essential information. Now we will should depend on non-U.S. missions to do the prospecting for us.

The mission was additionally important by way of trade and job progress round space technology and exploration. From a better schooling standpoint, that may be a new sector of the economic system that college students can practice in and be part of and assist develop.

What influence would a mission like VIPER have on different kinds of missions?

If you can also make water in situ useful resource utilization work on the moon, it should most undoubtedly work on Mars, as a result of the lunar atmosphere is rather more excessive. Mars has a tenuous environment. However the one factor the moon and Mars have in frequent is that they’re each poisonous to people. We want water, we’d like oxygen, we’d like life-support consumables to guard people.

VIPER was designed for robotic prospecting for these life-support consumables, which in flip reduces the chance of human exploration on the moon and different locations.

Would you name the moon a testbed for exploring different elements of our universe?

It is undoubtedly a testbed. In a paper printed after he died, Krafft Ehricke, a German space engineer, mentioned, “If God wished man to grow to be a spacefaring species, He would have given man a moon.” It is in our personal yard.

Proper now, we do not know easy methods to shield people and preserve them alive in deep space, so we do it in our personal yard first. That then allows people to discover extra distant locations.

What different impacts may come from a lunar prospecting mission like VIPER?

There’s nice industrial and financial potential in space exploration. The entire level of going up there may be to make life higher down right here. We’re creating job alternatives for our graduates.

We’re beginning to stimulate a complete new sector of our economic system. After which there may be the technology development wanted to discover different worlds which have untapped advantages for all times on Earth.

The moon’s lack of environment permits for an abundance of helium-3, an important element for creating helium fusion vitality. It has been calculated that one space shuttle cargo bay filled with helium-3 would gasoline the vitality wants of the US for one 12 months.

China could be very all in favour of creating fusion expertise. They’re trying on the moon as a method to get clear vitality and we must also be trying on the moon as a clean energy supply.

It is all interconnected. Proper now, we’re taking a look at water and ice as a result of we’d like it for human exploration—for all times assist and for rocket fuel. However there are different volatiles which might be going to be there and they are going to be helpful. There are many good science, exploration and industrial interactions that may go on right here.

What’s wanted by way of supporting lunar exploration?

We have to re-educate the general public to take a look at our space company price range as an funding in the way forward for the nation. The sector is getting large enough that industrial providers are rising, and that is what we wish to see in cislunar space. We may really find yourself with an enormous space economic system. If we go ahead to the moon collectively, we may be taught a lot and enhance life on Earth.