Blue Origin has been chosen by NASA as the sole bidder for a task order to relaunch the canceled VIPER lunar rover mission. The announcement, made September 19th, selects Blue Origin to deliver the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) to the moon’s south polar region by late 2027. The rover will travel on the second mission of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 lander through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
This decision surprised many, considering NASA’s prior award of a CLPS task order to Astrobotic for VIPER delivery via its Griffin lander. While that order remained after the July 2024 cancellation of VIPER due to cost and schedule overruns, NASA’s intent to use CLPS for a new launch was not previously disclosed. A July 25 presentation to the National Academies’ Space Studies Board by Mark Clampin, deputy associate administrator for science, omitted the CS-7 task order from its list of CLPS missions through 2029.
NASA clarified that it assessed options for alternative VIPER delivery methods from April to June, ending commercial partnership plans in May to explore “alternative approaches.” The agency ultimately used a “base plus option” structure, with an initial design award and a landing mission option. The option's activation depends on Blue Moon’s VIPER integration and a successful first Blue Moon mission, anticipated for late 2024. The total task order value is $190 million.
“In July, NASA queried the CLPS vendor pool to determine vendors had the capability to meet NASA’s specific requirements for delivery of VIPER to the moon,” the agency stated. “Based on the results of that query, NASA issued to the CLPS vendors a Request for Task Order Proposals in August.” Only Blue Origin submitted a proposal, which NASA deemed suitable.
Blue Origin’s selection might have been inevitable. VIPER’s 450-kilogram weight surpasses the capacity of smaller landers, such as Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost or Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C. Astrobotic, citing schedule conflicts and existing customer commitments, chose not to bid. SpaceX, another CLPS participant, hasn't secured a task order yet for its Starship lander.
Nicky Fox, NASA’s associate administrator for science, provided limited details at a September 21 press conference, stating, “At the time, we did not have a path forward for the VIPER mission with a lander…We’ve gone through a number of steps to find the right ride. It was solicited through a CLPS payload call, so our CLPS vendors were able to propose and we were very excited about the successful proposal coming in from Blue Origin.”
The revived VIPER mission also presents staffing issues. NASA reassigned VIPER personnel in March. “With this CS-7 award, NASA will initiate and staff a new, follow-on project to operate VIPER on the moon and conduct measurements using VIPER’s science instruments,” NASA reported. This project will be managed at Ames Research Center, with Johnson Space Center’s assistance, though the scope of this effort remains undefined.