Indian Space Program Needs Additional Funding

• NASA cancelled its Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission to the moon in July due to delays and high costs.
• The rover was designed to map the distribution of water-ice in the moon’s south pole region and its soils over three months.
• The cancellation of VIPER has drawn attention from the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the international community.
• The absence of VIPER presents an opportunity for China’s complex lunar programme to lead the way.
• India missed a chance when the Union Cabinet approved a proposal by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to begin the second phase of the country’s lunar programme with Chandrayaan-4, a sample-return mission.
• ISRO’s ‘one major mission at a time’ cadence leaves the organization incapable of responding rapidly to new opportunities.
• The VIPER incident highlights the need for more resources to realize the full potential of the Indian space program.