NASA has ended its lunar rover project. According to NASA, rising costs, delays and the fact that the rover project could come at the expense of other space missions are the reasons for the decision.

The organization had already spent more than 400 million euros on the rover, which was largely ready.

The so-called Viper rover was supposed to search for water at the moon’s south pole. Initial plans were supposed to send the robot to the moon by the end of 2023. But due to the need for more testing of the lander that will deliver the rover, which was built by a commercial space company, the launch has been postponed until later this year.

Later, new setbacks led to the launch being postponed until at least September 2025. This would have made the project much more expensive, and it was decided to stop the mission of the vehicle.

Interested U.S. companies or “international partners” can contact NASA by the end of this month to take on the rover mission, the organization wrote. press releaseOtherwise, the robot will be disassembled and its parts reused in subsequent lunar missions.

NASA has ambitions to put people back on the moon within a few years. However, these plans have had to be modified several times.

Currently, the so-called Artemis 2 mission is scheduled for September next year. During that mission, a spacecraft with four people on board will fly to the moon and back, but it will not land. The Artemis 3 landing is supposed to happen in September 2026. China also plans to send humans to the moon. That should happen around 2030.