WASHINGTON (AP) — NASA said Wednesday ... costs kept delaying the mission, threatening other projects, the space agency said. The rover had aimed to explore the moon's south pole.

which stands for Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, VIPER was a payload part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program flying on a private company’s mission.

NASA’s nearly complete yet canceled lunar rover VIPER isn’t going to get carried to the moon by a private space exploration company—but it’s also not quite dead yet ...