With the Artemis campaign, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is aiming to restart human exploration of the Moon for scientific discovery, technology advancement, and to learn how to live and work on another world as the agency prepares for human missions to Mars. Ground mobility will be a key element in the campaign, and it is collaborating more with commercial and international lunar partners to establish the first long-term presence on the Moon.

NASA announced yesterday that it has selected Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab to advance capabilities for an LTV (lunar terrain vehicle) that Artemis astronauts will use to travel around the lunar surface during the agency’s Artemis campaign on the Moon and in preparing for human missions to Mars.

“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,” said Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The agency intends to begin using the LTV for crewed operations during Artemis V, which is scheduled to launch no earlier than March 2030. It will acquire the LTV as a service from the industry, with the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, milestone-based LTVS (Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services) contract having a combined maximum potential value of $4.6 billion for all awards.

Each provider will begin with a feasibility task order, a year-long special study to develop a system that meets requirements through the preliminary design maturity project phase. The agency will issue a subsequent request-for-task order 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 anticipates making an award to only one provider for the demonstration. It will issue additional task orders to provide unpressurized rover capabilities for the agency’s moonwalking and scientific exploration needs through 2039.

The LTV will have to handle the extreme conditions at the Moon’s South Pole and feature advanced technologies for power management, autonomous driving, and state-of-the-art communications and navigation systems. Crews will use it to explore, transport scientific equipment, and collect samples of the lunar surface much farther than they could on foot, enabling increased science returns.

Between missions, when crews are not on the Moon, the LTV will be operated remotely to support NASA’s scientific objectives. Outside of those duties, the provider could use its LTV for commercial lunar surface activities unrelated to NASA missions.

“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-round.”

Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, technology evolution, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for crewed missions to Mars. Advanced rovers are NASA’s foundation for deep space exploration as are the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, commercial human landing systems, next-generation spacesuits, and Gateway small lunar-orbiting space station.

 

Intuitive Machines Moon RACER

NASA awarded Intuitive Machines $30 million as a prime contractor to complete a services feasibility assessment and create a feasibility roadmap to develop and deploy an LTV using Intuitive Machines’ Nova-D cargo-class lunar lander.

“This procurement strategically aligns with the company’s flight-proven capability to deliver payloads to the surface of the Moon under the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, further solidifying our position as a proven commercial contractor in lunar exploration,” said Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus. “Our global team is on a path to provide essential lunar infrastructure services to NASA in a project that would allow the company to retain ownership of the vehicle for commercial utilization during periods of non-NASA activity over approximately ten years of lunar surface activity.”

The company believes its Moon Reusable Autonomous Crewed Exploration Rover (RACER) global team, which includes partners AVL, Boeing, Michelin, and Northrop Grumman, is the most comprehensively equipped choice for delivering and deploying an LTV that meets NASA requirements. As the prime contractor, Intuitive Machines says it intends to apply its experience as the only U.S. commercial company to deliver science and technology data from the surface of the Moon to lead systems integration, spacecraft design, energy management, avionics, autonomous navigation, sensors, controls, mission planning, operations, and training.

AVL brings its expertise in battery-electric vehicles, propulsion solutions, and autonomous driving. The company will focus on the vehicle’s drivetrain, steering, and suspension. Its scalable development tools and technologies will help design, test, and power the LTV in extreme environments associated with the Moon and beyond.

Boeing will lead the design of the LTV system and support fabrication, testing, integration, mission planning, and operations of the flight vehicle and both static and dynamic mockups.

Michelin will leverage the experience gained from previous collaborations with NASA and its expertise in airless technology and high-tech materials to design a lunar tire/wheel able to operate at temperatures beyond +100°C and -240°C (+212°F and -400°F) extremes, withstand exposure to solar and galactic radiation, and ensure maximum longevity and traction on aggressive loose soil.

Northrop Grumman will leverage its experience in power systems, other vehicle systems, and mission planning and training.

After completing the phase one feasibility assessment award, Intuitive Machines expects to bid on the phase two LTVS award for developing, delivering, and operating the LTV on the Moon.

 

Lunar Outpost Lunar Dawn

The Lunar Dawn team, led by Lunar Outpost as the prime contractor along with its principal partner Lockheed Martin, features teammates General Motors, Goodyear, and MDA Space said to combine robotic and human space exploration heritage, cutting-edge technology, and automotive industry strengths.

“Surface mobility is a critical capability for humanity’s future in space, and Lunar Outpost looks forward to driving value in the cislunar economy by providing a reliable, safe, and capable vehicle that will be used to provide mobility to Artemis astronauts and perform critical missions autonomously on the Moon for commercial endeavors,” said Lunar Outpost CEO Justin Cyrus.

The Lunar Dawn LTV is being engineered for “an exceptional experience” rooted in safety and convenience including a flight-deck-forward design that provides expansive views for navigating challenging lunar environments.

“These unique technologies will enable the future of critical infrastructure required for a sustainable presence in space where humans can live, and work far from Earth,” said Kirk Shireman, Vice President of Lunar Exploration Campaigns, at Lockheed Martin.

The vehicle is designed with mission growth in mind. Its capabilities include advanced autonomous navigation and operation, with or without astronauts onboard. For diverse commercial use, it has a reconfigurable cargo bed that allows for the changing of payloads with its robust robotic arm. It can not only survive but also operate during the two-week long lunar nights with temperatures down to -280°F (-173°C), the novel technology extending mission life from days to many years.

Lunar Outpost says it is the only company presently contracted to design four lunar rovers, with two already built and qualified. Its commercial rover missions reaching the Moon this year will serve as LTVS pathfinder missions and enable its teams to test technologies and gather data to further the LTV development.

Lockheed Martin will contribute its decades of experience delivering complex deep space vehicles including those that come with human space flight on programs like Orion and Human Landing System Cislunar Transporter as well as planetary missions such as Lucy and OSIRIS-REx.

GM is bringing its advanced Ultium EV battery technology along with extensive chassis and suspension development heritage. Its experience on lunar surface mobility goes back to contributions to the wheels, motor, and suspension of NASA’s Lunar Roving Vehicle during the Apollo Program.

Goodyear is developing the rover’s tires, also leveraging years of experience in lunar mobility, dating back to Apollo missions.

MDA Space draws from decades of experience in human spaceflight robotics to provide robotic arms and interfaces, enabling the ability to place and maintain commercial payloads.

 

Astrolab FLEX rover

The contract for Venturi Astrolab, which is leading a team of Axiom Space and Odyssey Space Research, is worth up to $1.9 billion to develop its FLEX (Flexible Logistics and Exploration) rover.

“Astrolab is honored to have its FLEX rover selected by NASA to participate in the development of creating a Lunar Terrain Vehicle for the Artemis campaign,” said Jaret Matthews, Founder & CEO, of Astrolab.

Axiom Space is offering its expertise in the design of vehicle interfaces for both the crew and spacesuits, ensuring astronaut safety and mobility on the surface of the Moon, according to Russell Ralston, Vice President of EVA.

Odyssey’s roles include flight software development and testing, systems engineering and integration, system safety analysis, human-in-the-loop simulation development and testing, operations, training, and vehicle certification of the LTV version of the FLEX rover.

Astrolab revealed the full-scale working prototype for its FLEX rover in March 2022, and since then conducting thousands of hours of laboratory and field testing that has led to numerous design improvements. Tests included both crewed and telerobotic operations, deployment of a variety of large payloads, science operations with its robotic arm, and engineering testing of the rover’s mobility performance in challenging terrain.

As required by NASA, FLEX can carry two suited astronauts, accommodate a robotic arm to support science exploration, perform robotic cargo logistics, and survive the extreme temperatures at the lunar South Pole. It can be operated remotely from Earth even when astronauts are not present, or it can be operated by suited astronauts.

Once FLEX arrives at the Moon, Astrolab expects it will be the largest and most capable rover to ever reach there. With a maximum combined rover and cargo mass of more than 2 ton (1.8 t), the FLEX rover is nearly three times the mass of its largest predecessor. This increased capacity provides significantly more opportunities to conduct scientific experiments and commercial endeavors on the lunar surface.

Astrolab will be exhibiting its FLEX rover at the 39th Annual Space Symposium from April 8-11, 2024, at The Broadmoor Hotel and Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs, CO.