A lightweight simulator version of NASA's Resource Prospector undergoes a mobility test at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Kennedy Space Center)Months after President Trump signed a directive ordering NASA to return astronauts to the moon, the space agency has canceled its only lunar rover currently in development. They say the mission is vital both to human exploration and to scientific understanding of the moon. In their letter, the LEAG members advocated for keeping the Resource Prospector as part of the human exploration program. “And if the results from this prospecting are actually really good, we could go a long way to setting up sustainable human exploration of Mars.

Source: Washington Post April 27, 2018 19:22 UTC