NASA has delayed the launch of its VIPER rover designed to search for water on the moon by at least a year. According to The Verge, it was planned that the launch of the device would be completed in November 2023, but now it has been postponed to November 2024..

The delay is related to the testing of the landing platform, which should deliver the lunar rover to the Earth's satellite..

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VIPER is part of the Artemis program, in which NASA plans to put people back on the moon.. The robotic all-terrain vehicle will, in fact, be a reconnaissance vehicle. It is equipped with special wheels and a drill that will allow it to search for water ice, which is believed to be on the surface of the moon.. This will help scientists determine how much ice is on the surface of the Earth's satellite, how much of it is there, in what regions and in what form the water is..

When future human missions need water on the Moon, they will know where to get it..

To deliver the VIPER to the moon, NASA has contracted a commercial company, Astrobotic, which plans to use the Griffin lander.. At the same time, NASA requested additional tests for the lander, due to which the launch of the rover was postponed for a year..

Following these changes, NASA will allocate an additional $67.8 million to Astrobotic, bringing the company's contract value up to $320.4 million..

Although VIPER's launch has been delayed, NASA plans to launch multiple rover instruments with future commercial missions to the Moon later this year..

As part of the Artemis program, NASA plans to build a space station called Lunar Gateway in orbit around the moon to serve as a permanent base for lunar visitors with living quarters and a laboratory..

The launch of the Artemis-1 mission is scheduled to take place between August 23 and September 6. Then a module will be launched that will go to the orbit of the moon and provide data on how such a trip can affect the human body.. After 2025, the agency plans to launch a manned mission to the moon.

As previously reported, Firefly Aerospace, a company developing lightweight launch vehicles for launching small satellites and cubesats into space, received an order from NASA to deliver equipment to the Moon for scientific research..