NASA has announced a significant development in its mission to send humans back to the Moon. The space agency has named three companies – Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab – to develop the lunar rover, which will be used by astronauts during the Artemis V mission.
The vehicle, known as the lunar terrain vehicle (LTV), will enable astronauts to travel across the Moon’s surface and explore remote regions in the lunar south pole. Venturi Astrolab, a strategic partner of the Monegasque Venturi group, brings its expertise in developing electric vehicles for the development of LTVs. This announcement marks a significant step towards NASA’s goal of returning humans to the Moon by 2024.
A contract worth more than 4.6 billion dollars
NASA has recently announced that three companies are in the race to obtain a contract for the next 13 years, with a potential value of $4.6 billion over the entire duration of the program. The contract also allows for two additional years of service provision. The three contenders will now enter a one-year study phase, in which they will focus on developing a system that meets NASA’s requirements throughout the preliminary design maturity phase.
To win the contract, the lunar rover must fulfill some critical requirements set by the American Space Agency. The rover should be able to transport two astronauts in suits and accommodate a robotic arm that is essential for exploration and sample collection. It should also ensure robotic logistics of goods and withstand the extreme temperatures of the Moon’s south pole.
Moreover, the lunar rover should be remote-controlled from Earth or the future lunar base or the ISS. Meeting these requirements is crucial as the rover will play a vital role in NASA’s upcoming missions to the Moon.
To supply lunar rovers for its upcoming missions, NASA has launched a competition in which multiple companies will have to carry out several demonstration missions to prove their capabilities. After the successful completion of the missions, only one company will be picked as NASA’s preferred service provider for supplying lunar rovers until 2039. It is worth noting that the rover must be fully operational for the Artemis V mission, which is scheduled for 2029. The Artemis III mission, on the other hand, is scheduled for 2026 and marks the return of humans to the moon.
