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The cancellation of the rover was prudent. The moon cannot be mined. Robotic machines are the first step to mining, including underwater drilling, etc.
I don't know if the private sector will pick up with it, but, it is too dangerous to begin to change Earth's VOLUME OF MATTER in it's orbit around Sol. It is one thing to mine Earth and simply move energy sources from one state to another (liquid to gas), but, it is quite something different to add matter to the planet. Earth, the moon and the sun have a very intricate and elegant dance that simply has to be respected. There are more important things than money.
April 28, 2018
..."We now understand RP (click here) was cancelled on 23 April 2018 and the project has been asked to close down by the end of May," said the letter dated April 26 by the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group, addressed to NASA chief Jim Bridenstine and posted on the website NASAWatch.com.
"This action is viewed with both incredulity and dismay by our community," particularly because Trump´s space policy "directs NASA to go to the lunar surface," the letter said.
The robotic rover was being built as the world´s only vehicle aimed at exploring the polar region of the Moon, and was expected to undergo a design review next year ahead of launching in 2022.
It would have been the first US lunar lander since Apollo 17 in 1972, and the first ever US robotic rover on the surface of the Moon....
