Lunar Robotics Tug Of War Update
Robotics office still open for now, Huntsville Times
“Another problem with the lunar robotics office is that the probe had been expanded beyond its original mission, said Keith Cowing, a former NASA employee who now runs the agency watchdog Web site NASAWatch.com. “Part of this issue has always been massive cost growth,” Cowing said. “It’s ballooned from a $300 million to $400 million program to double. It’s something around $1 billion now.” Cowing said a simple lunar lander, similar to the ones put on the moon during the Apollo missions “has grown from a simple design to a battleship. It has more requirements and mission responsibility than originally planned.”
Editor’s note: I was referring specifically to the Surveyor series of robotic landers which were used to do in situ analysis of the lunar surface in preparation for Apollo landings a few years later.