Off-road Time On The Moon: The Companies That Will Produce The Vehicles Have Been Announced

NASA has identified the candidate companies that will develop the exploration vehicles to be used by astronauts going to the Moon as part of the Artemis mission. Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost and Venturi Astrolab will compete.

All three companies will develop their team’s ideas for a Lunar Land Vehicle (LTV) that will help astronauts explore the Moon’s south polar region. NASA plans to establish a base there as the region is believed to contain frozen water.

THE FEATURES THAT THE VEHICLE SHOULD HAVE ARE EXPLAINED

Candidate companies will try to design vehicles that can accommodate two suitable astronauts and withstand the harsh conditions of the region. The vehicles must also have robotic, remote operation capabilities so that NASA can continue to conduct tests and exploration even when astronauts are not on the Moon.

In the next step, they will embark on a year-long process where they will conduct various feasibility studies to develop a system that meets NASA’s requirements during the preliminary design maturity project phase.

NASA will then solicit proposals from companies to carry out test missions, and the companies must prove their competence before the Artemis V mission.

Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said: “We will use the lander to travel to places we could not otherwise reach on foot, thereby increasing our ability to explore and make new scientific discoveries.”

Intuitive Machines was the first private aerospace company to land a spacecraft on the Moon. It was also the company that developed the first spacecraft to carry the US to the Moon in more than 50 years.

NASA’s Artemis program aims to establish a sustainable presence near the Moon, ahead of the larger goal of one day preparing for manned missions to Mars.