NASA’s next moon car is starting to take shape.The agency has selected three private teams — led by the companies Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost and Venturi Astrolab, respectively — to develop their versions of the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV), the rover that Artemis astronauts will drive around the moon’s southern polar region beginning in 2030.”We look forward to the development of the Artemis generation lunar exploration vehicle to help us advance what we learn at the moon,” Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, said in a statement today. “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.”Related: NASA’s new moon car for Artemis will be inspired by Mars rovers artist’s concept of a gray, four-wheeled astronaut-driven rover on the moonEach team will continue developing its rover concept over the next 12 months, under a “feasibility task order” from the agency. The teams will then be eligible to compete for a different NASA task order — one to build their vehicle and get it to the moon in a key demonstration ahead of the Artemis 5 mission, which is currently scheduled to launch in March 2030.”NASA anticipates making an award to only one provider for the demonstration,” agency officials wrote in today’s statement. “NASA will issue additional task orders to provide unpressurized rover capabilities for the agency’s moonwalking and scientific exploration needs through 2039.”As that statement notes, NASA will buy rover services, not the actual LTV(s). The setup is similar to the contracts that the agency has signed with SpaceX for cargo and crew delivery services to the International Space Station, which the company accomplishes with its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule.The total potential value of the LTV services contract is $4.6 billion for all awards, NASA said in today’s statement. The selected team or teams will be responsible not only for building their rover, but also getting it to the moon’s south polar region. artwork of a four-wheeled rover driving on the moon at night.The LTV will be the United States’ first moon car since the Lunar Roving Vehicle, which debuted on the Apollo 15 mission in 1971.The new machine will be similar to that famous “moon buggy” in some ways. It will be unpressurized, for example, meaning astronauts who ride it will need to keep their spacesuits on. It will also be a two-person vehicle, like the Apollo rover. an astronaut in a space suit driving a car-like vehicle with no roofBut the Artemis car will be different in some key ways. Most importantly, it will be able to move without anyone in the driver’s seat, something the old moon buggy cou …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnNASA’s next moon car is starting to take shape.The agency has selected three private teams — led by the companies Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost and Venturi Astrolab, respectively — to develop their versions of the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV), the rover that Artemis astronauts will drive around the moon’s southern polar region beginning in 2030.”We look forward to the development of the Artemis generation lunar exploration vehicle to help us advance what we learn at the moon,” Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, said in a statement today. “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.”Related: NASA’s new moon car for Artemis will be inspired by Mars rovers artist’s concept of a gray, four-wheeled astronaut-driven rover on the moonEach team will continue developing its rover concept over the next 12 months, under a “feasibility task order” from the agency. The teams will then be eligible to compete for a different NASA task order — one to build their vehicle and get it to the moon in a key demonstration ahead of the Artemis 5 mission, which is currently scheduled to launch in March 2030.”NASA anticipates making an award to only one provider for the demonstration,” agency officials wrote in today’s statement. “NASA will issue additional task orders to provide unpressurized rover capabilities for the agency’s moonwalking and scientific exploration needs through 2039.”As that statement notes, NASA will buy rover services, not the actual LTV(s). The setup is similar to the contracts that the agency has signed with SpaceX for cargo and crew delivery services to the International Space Station, which the company accomplishes with its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule.The total potential value of the LTV services contract is $4.6 billion for all awards, NASA said in today’s statement. The selected team or teams will be responsible not only for building their rover, but also getting it to the moon’s south polar region. artwork of a four-wheeled rover driving on the moon at night.The LTV will be the United States’ first moon car since the Lunar Roving Vehicle, which debuted on the Apollo 15 mission in 1971.The new machine will be similar to that famous “moon buggy” in some ways. It will be unpressurized, for example, meaning astronauts who ride it will need to keep their spacesuits on. It will also be a two-person vehicle, like the Apollo rover. an astronaut in a space suit driving a car-like vehicle with no roofBut the Artemis car will be different in some key ways. Most importantly, it will be able to move without anyone in the driver’s seat, something the old moon buggy cou …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
