New Delhi: Blue Origin has finally won the major NASA contract to deliver a lunar rover to the moon, and a decisive vote of confidence in both Blue Origin’s Lander and the future of human exploration. The contract also means that the VIPER rover will finally go to see the lunar surface after NASA shelved the entire program last year due to delays and cost overruns. Blue Origin will carry VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) on its uncrewed Blue Origin MK1 lander. NASA has already awarded the company the human-rated lander contract under Artemis, but the program is distinct from this mission.
This latest award was granted under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services task order for roughly $190 million. The Blue Moon Mk1 is aimed to sit near the lunar south pole, where the scientists suspect there are significant stores of water ice. The VIPER will drill down into the surface to test that hypothesis. The decision closes an uncertain chapter for the VIPER, the agency first selected Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic in 2020 to deliver the rover on its Griffin lander, an award initially valued at $199.5 million. After the delays on both the rover and lander, NASA cancelled VIPER in July 2024, citing ballooning costs, even though much of the hardware was already built.
For Blue Origin, this win is most important, and this award gives the cargo workhorse lander its first high-profile scientific payload and the pins to schedule, in late 2027. It also marks the second major NASA endorsement of the company’s lunar ambitions after the Human Landing System contract. VIPER will spend roughly 100 days on the lunar surface, driving around, prospecting and drilling to map water ice deposits. The rover is equipped with several instruments, including a drill and three spectrometers designed to detect water, hydrogen, and other minerals. All of the discussions have a final review, which Blue Origin has won, and it is a point of pride for them.
