NASA is gearing up for some lunar exploration like never before with the announcement of plans to rent out some cool wheels to drive around the moon. The space agency has hired three companies to come up with designs for vehicles that will take NASA astronauts around the lunar south polar region in the coming years.
These vehicles will not only transport astronauts but will also have the capability to self-drive around as robotic explorers, similar to NASA’s rovers on Mars. The self-driving feature will allow the vehicle to meet the next astronaut mission at a different location, opening up new possibilities for lunar exploration.
The companies tasked with designing these lunar terrain vehicles (L.T.V.) are Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab. Only one of these companies will ultimately build a vehicle for NASA and send it to the moon.
NASA has set some ambitious requirements for the L.T.V., including the ability to drive at speeds up to 9.3 miles per hour, travel a dozen miles on a single charge, and allow astronauts to drive around for eight hours. The agency will work with the three companies for a year to further develop their designs before choosing one for the demonstration phase.
While the L.T.V. will not be ready in time for the astronauts of Artemis III, NASA’s first landing in the return-to-the-moon program scheduled for 2026, the plan is for the vehicle to be on the lunar surface ahead of Artemis V, the third astronaut landing expected in 2030.
The contract for the L.T.V. is worth up to $4.6 billion over the next 15 years, with most of it going to the winning company. This new approach of purchasing services rather than hardware follows NASA’s recent strategy for transportation to the International Space Station, which has proven successful and cost-effective.
For the company chosen to build the L.T.V., the vehicle will remain its property, allowing it to rent out the rover to other customers when not needed by NASA. This opens up commercial opportunities for the company to sell capacity on the rover to international partners, commercial companies, and space agencies around the world.
The competition for the L.T.V. contract has brought together small startups and larger aerospace companies, as well as car companies, forming alliances to push the boundaries of lunar exploration. With these new vehicles, NASA is set to revolutionize its exploration of the moon and pave the way for future missions and discoveries.
