NASA needs a new lunar car for astronauts at the moon’s south pole
The search for the next-gen buggy for the upcoming Artemis moon missions has begun.
While the previous lunar vehicles, used during the Apollo missions of the 1970s, were designed for the relatively mild climate of the moon’s equatorial region (or slightly north of it), NASA has Artemis Missions are scheduled for the moon south polewhere conditions are expected to be much more severe.
NASA has started the contract process (opens in new tab) to let the private industry build the next lunar rover, officially known as the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV), which Artemis astronauts will use to traverse the area around the moon’s south pole and beyond. The new draft application for proposals, which is the first step in the lengthy tender process, has published (opens in new tab) for industry partners to review and comment before submitting a formal proposal to build the LTV.
Related: NASA still plans its second human moon landing on Artemis 4: report
“This design is one of the first major steps in this exciting project that will allow astronauts to explore further on the moon than ever before,” Lara Kearney, manager of the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) and Human Surface Mobility (HSM) Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, said in a NASA statement (opens in new tab). “Getting industry feedback is critical as we move forward with a final solicitation for a proposal.”
The unpressurized rover is expected to travel hundreds of miles a year to Artemis Astronauts access to a wide variety of locations for prospecting, exploration and scientific research. It will also be able to be piloted remotely if required and is expected to be available for commercial use when not employed by a NASA operation.
In response to a question about how the new Lunar Terrain Vehicle will differ from the previous vehicle used during the Apollo missions, NASA public affairs officer Rebecca Wickes of the Johnson Space Center in Houston told Space.com that “in Unlike the single-mission Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) used, the Artemis LTV will be developed with modern technology that will allow it to span multiple Artemis missions and conduct remote research in between Artemis Manned Missions.”
“The new LTV will go further, last longer and ultimately achieve more on the order of magnitude compared to Apollo missions,” Wickes continued. “Instead of ‘owning’ the vehicle, NASA will ‘rent’ it as a service from industry suppliers. This strategy will allow NASA to be one of many customers and nurture a healthy space industry for the US economy.” .”
This strategy should ultimately keep costs to US taxpayers lower than if NASA were to outsource the LTV exclusively, as was the case with the moon robbers used during the Apollo missionsthat were left on the lunar surface after the missions were completed.
One of the biggest challenges the Artemis astronauts face is working in what is known as: permanently shaded regions of the lunar surface. The moon’s axis of rotation is almost perpendicular to the sunso there are craters around the moon’s south pole that are so deep that their bottom hasn’t seen sunlight in over 2 billion years.
In addition to these lighting conditions, there is also the issue of driving an electric vehicle in the extreme cold of the moon’s south pole. This will be the industry’s biggest challenge in hopes of winning NASA’s new contract for the LTV, which NASA plans to outsource as a service from private contractors rather than own it entirely.
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