\n<\/p>\n
NASA\u2019s second thoughts about VIPER opened an opportunity for someone else to book that ride to the moon. Just because its cargo was canceled did not mean Astrobotic\u2019s journey was off \u2014 it remains scheduled for later this year. And on Wednesday, a small startup named Venturi Astrolab Inc. announced it had claimed that opportunity to accelerate its own lunar rover plans.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re excited to get actual wheels in the dirt this year and see how all our tech performs,\u201d Jaret Matthews, the chief executive of Astrolab, said in an interview. (Despite the similar names, the two companies are unrelated.)<\/p>\n
Many people inside and outside of NASA were perplexed by the cancellation of VIPER, because the rover, while over budget and behind schedule, had been completed. It needed just one more round of testing before it would be ready for launch. NASA officials said that instead, the finished rover would be disassembled.<\/p>\n
In addition, they said NASA would still pay $323 million to Astrobotic. Thus, canceling the mission would save NASA a relatively paltry amount \u2014 $84 million \u2014 after it had spent about $800 million.<\/p>\n
For its fee, Astrobotic would conduct the mission as planned, but the lander spacecraft, known as Griffin, would carry a nonfunctional dummy weight instead of VIPER.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
NASA officials said that for Astrobotic to perform the landing successfully was in itself a valuable exercise, and that the company was free to sell the payload space on Griffin to another customer if it could, replacing the dummy weight.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had more than 60 organizations from around the world knock on our door,\u201d said John Thornton, chief executive of Astrobotic.<\/p>\n
Astrolab, he said, was the best match. \u201cThey could move fast,\u201d Mr. Thornton said. \u201cThey had a payload that matched the interfaces already for the lander.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rover that Astrolab will fly on this mission is also roughly the same size as VIPER. Mr. Matthews declined to say how much Astrolab was paying Astrobotic.<\/p>\n
Astrolab is developing a rover the size of a Jeep Wrangler that could autonomously drive cargo or people across the moon\u2019s surface. The company calls it FLEX, short for Flexible Logistics and Exploration Rover.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
FLEX is much too big and heavy to fit on Astrobotic\u2019s lander. Astrolab has already booked space for FLEX on a future flight of Starship, the gargantuan spacecraft currently under development by SpaceX, the rocket company founded by Elon Musk.<\/p>\n
But before sending FLEX to the moon, Astrolab wants to send a smaller, 1,000-pound rover named FLIP \u2014 short for FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform \u2014 to test technologies like batteries, motors, power systems and communications. A particular goal is studying how to minimize problems caused by particles of lunar dust, which are angular and sharp.<\/p>\n
The smaller FLIP is the one that Astrobotic\u2019s Griffin will take to the moon.<\/p>\n
Mr. Matthews said FLIP would also carry a couple of commercial payloads that would be announced later.<\/p>\n
Despite Astrobotic\u2019s failure last year, Mr. Matthews said he had confidence in Astrobotic. \u201cFrom our perspective, it\u2019s actually a way to reduce risk for our subsequent missions,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we didn\u2019t have full confidence in Astrobotic, we wouldn\u2019t be doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Thornton said the past year had been one of introspection for the company. \u201cIt\u2019s like the old saying, \u2018Whatever doesn\u2019t kill you makes you stronger,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cI think in this case, it really did.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Despite NASA\u2019s efforts to kill VIPER, the rover is not dead nor dismantled yet. NASA asked for and received proposals to continue the mission without additional investments from NASA.<\/p>\n
The agency expects to make a decision this summer. But with the new Trump administration indicating more interest in Mars than the moon, everything could change soon.<\/p>\n
Mr. Thornton said Astrobotic was not worrying about that possibility yet. \u201cThere\u2019s certainly a lot of conversation in D.C.,\u201d he said. \u201cBut right now we\u2019re focused on what NASA has contracted us to do, and that is to deliver Griffin to the surface of the moon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Matthews said that if NASA indeed made a sharp turn toward Mars, Astrolab could pivot too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve always considered ourselves to be a multi-planet business,\u201d he said, \u201cand we would be excited to go to Mars as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n