When the Americans were last on the moon (in 1972), they roamed the surface in a relatively simple battery-powered rover. As NASA prepares to return to the moon, the space agency will have to upgrade the rover for the next mission. This will be handled by Lockheed Martin and General Motors, which have officially begun developing the next generation lunar rover. It will be faster and able to travel longer distances than its predecessor.
If NASA chooses the Lockheed Martin and General Motors project, the rover will be used in future Artemis missions. The first test flight without a crew is scheduled for November this year. At the briefing, the leadership of the American space agency said that all proposals will be presented in the third or fourth quarter, after which NASA will select the winner and sign a contract with him.
The previous rover could cover a distance of no more than eight kilometers from the Apollo landing site, which limited the ability of astronauts to collect important samples in distant regions of the Moon, such as the north and south poles. Both companies are keen to improve the rover’s performance, but have not yet decided on the range.
General Motors will also develop an autonomous driving system for the lunar rover, which should improve safety, allowing astronauts to focus on collecting lunar soil and conducting scientific research. According to GM executives, the company intends to invest more than $ 27 billion in electric and autonomous vehicle technology by 2025. She will use these studies in the lunar rover project.
Lockheed Martin and General Motors have already partnered with NASA. The automaker helped build the previous lunar rover used during the Apollo era, including the chassis and wheels, and designed and integrated a navigation system. Lockheed Martin, in turn, helped build the spacecraft and power systems that were used in all NASA missions to Mars. The companies said this is one of several initiatives they are working on together. In the future, announcements of other projects are expected.
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