Elijah Williams
Along with financing the commercial development of new rockets, Artemis lunar landers and new spacesuits, NASA is moving forward with plans to buy an unpressurized rover that could carry astronauts, scientific payloads — or both — through the rugged terrain of the lunar south pole, officials said Wednesday.
The agency announced it has awarded contracts to three companies to develop competing designs for a Lunar Land Vehicle, or LTV, similar in concept to the rovers that carried the last three Apollo crews across the surface of the Moon more than 50 years ago.
Intuitive Machines
But the new models will feature cutting-edge technology, long-lasting tires, autonomous computer control and other technological upgrades, allowing them to cover much greater distances under astronauts’ manual control or by remote control from Earth.
“As astronauts explore the moon’s south polar region during our Artemis missionsthey will be able to go further and conduct more science than ever before, thanks to the Lunar Land Rover,” said Vanessa Wyche, director of the Johnson Space Center. “Think a hybrid of the Apollo-style lunar rover… and a mobile science platform unscrewed.”
“This will give the crew the ability to travel a much greater distance from landing sites,” Wyche said. “Additionally, during unmanned operations, LTV will provide autonomous operations for science and technology.”
Lunar Outpost
The milestone-based lunar terrain vehicle services contract has a maximum value of $4.6 billion. But NASA is starting small, handing out three “feasibility” contracts to Intuitive Machines of Houston, the Lunar Outpost of Golden, Colorado, and the Venturi Astrolab of Hawthorne, California.
The companies will spend the next 12 months perfecting their designs and developing plans to get their rovers to the Moon. At that point, NASA will hold a formal competition and choose a single contractor to proceed with actual development.
The goal is to have a working rover waiting on the Moon when astronauts making the third Artemis lunar landing reach the lunar south pole later this decade.
Company representatives, citing the competitive nature of the project, declined to provide details on what kind of range their rovers could achieve, whether they would use solar panels, or how long a rover could last.
Astrolab Venturi
But Astrolab’s Jaret Matthews said NASA’s initial requirements “are that it travel 15 kilometers per hour, be able to travel 20 kilometers on a charge, and be able to withstand a full eight-hour EVA.” [moonwalk]. These are the entry-level requirements. Our intention is to greatly exceed them in most cases.”
Whatever the specifics, the unforgiving environment of the lunar south pole will pose a major challenge. Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines, said his company is working with Boeing, Michelin and Northrop Grumman to develop its LTV.
“We’re going to need this world-class team to do this because… the environment on the Moon is difficult,” Altemus said. “We have 500-degree temperature swings. The South Pole region is rocky, rugged and shadowy. This will stress our suspension, our drivetrain, our power systems and our autonomous driving algorithms and software.”
“We are going to need this globally integrated team to achieve this, to allow this rover to live for 10 years and provide the service that NASA is asking for,” he added.
The other competitors are also partnering with major aerospace companies and all three are confident they can rise to the challenge.
NASA too.
“We are combining the best of human and robotic exploration,” said Jacob Bleacher, a planetary geologist who serves as NASA’s chief exploration scientist. “Between Artemis missions, when our astronauts are not on the Moon, NASA can use LTV’s remote operation capabilities to continue exploring.
“The LTV is truly an exploration vehicle,” he said. “Where it will go, there are no roads. Its mobility will fundamentally change our view of the Moon.”
NASA’s long-range plans for Artemis also include a pressurized rover that could carry astronauts much greater distances and provide a more comfortable environment for long-duration exploration. Toyota is working on a pressurized rover concept, but NASA has not released details on how such a vehicle might fit into the Artemis architecture.
