By Dean Murray via SWNS
NASA has selected a shortlist of candidates to provide a new extreme off-road moon buggy.
The vehicle designs commissioned by the U.S. space agency will vie to not only ferry around astronauts from 2030 but carry out missions autonomously.
Tech companies Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab will build prototypes for the lunar terrain vehicle (LTV), with contracts worth $4.6 billion available.
Between Artemis missions, when crews are not on the Moon, the LTV will operate remotely to support NASA’s scientific objectives as needed.
Outside those times, the provider will have the ability to use their LTV for commercial lunar surface activities unrelated to NASA missions.
“We look forward to the development of the Artemis generation lunar exploration vehicle to help us advance what we learn at the Moon,” said Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “This vehicle will greatly increase our astronauts’ ability to explore and conduct science on the lunar surface while also serving as a science platform between crewed missions.”
NASA say the LTV must be able to handle the extreme conditions at the Moon’s South Pole and will feature advanced technologies for power management, autonomous driving, and state of the art communications and navigation systems.
Crews will use the LTV to explore, transport scientific equipment, and collect samples of the lunar surface, much farther than they could on foot, enabling increased science returns.
Each provider will begin with a feasibility task order, which will be a year-long special study to develop a system that meets NASA’s requirements through the preliminary design maturity project phase.
The agency will issue a subsequent request for task order proposal for a demonstration mission to continue developing the LTV, deliver it to the surface of the Moon, and validate its performance and safety ahead of Artemis V.
NASA say they anticipate making an award to only one provider for the demonstration.
They say: “NASA will issue additional task orders to provide unpressurised rover capabilities for the agency’s moonwalking and scientific exploration needs through 2039.”
The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, milestone-based Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services contract has a combined maximum potential value of $4.6 billion for all awards.
“We will use the LTV to travel to locations we might not otherwise be able to reach on foot, increasing our ability to explore and make new scientific discoveries,” said Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist in the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “With the Artemis crewed missions, and during remote operations when there is not a crew on the surface, we are enabling science and discovery on the Moon year around.”
Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts – including the first woman, first person of colour, and its first international partner astronaut – to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, technology evolution, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for crewed missions to Mars.
NASA add that advanced rovers, along with the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, commercial human landing systems and next-generation spacesuits, as well as the small Gateway space station orbiting the Moon, are their foundation for deep space exploration.
