NASA scrapped a Moon-landing mission after years of delays

2026-07-18

NASA now pays private companies to deliver things to the Moon, instead of building the landers itself.

That's cheaper — but riskier. Missions can simply fall apart, like this one did.

What: NASA and Draper agreed to end their CP-12 Moon mission.
Why: The lander redesign was so far behind that landing slipped to 2030–2031.
The cost: NASA had already paid about $43 million of the $73 million contract.
Not wasted: NASA still wants to fly the science tools on a future mission.