New moon buggies, all-inclusive private service

Nasa has selected three commercial companies to develop, launch and test the next vehicle that astronauts will drive to the Moon. A $4.6 billion investment for the vehicle and all operations, from launch to landing, on the Selenian surface.

BY EMILIO COZZI

The first detail that jumps out at you are the headlights.

It takes a few seconds to realize why: the “moon buggies” driven by astronauts during the Apollo missions did not have them. They weren’t there because they simply weren’t needed: human and robotic exploration on Selenic soil always took place in broad daylight, lunar day, of course, which is equivalent to 14 Earth days. The upcoming vehicles for the exploration of the Selenic moors, on the other hand, will need beacons all right. Because they will be working at the South Pole, and there day and night will brush past and chase each other, between areas that are always lit and others that have been plunged into darkness for millions, or billions, of years.

In recent days, Nasa selected three companies to develop the next Lunar Terrain Vehicles — that’s the technical name, abbreviated to Ltv –, that is, the heirs to the Moon buggies. From the three companies, the U.S. agency will rent an all-inclusive service, which Nasa will detail with instructions, objectives and tasks for the astronauts. It is still at the “feasibility” stage, that is, at the preliminary evaluation of projects, but the overall budget is significant: $4.6 billion (at the time of writing these lines there are no details on how much is allocated for individual phases).

Startups and giants (including of “tires”)

They are Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab. They are tasked with providing the statunintense space agency with lunar surface transportation for the next pioneers to land for the Artemis V mission in 2030. The concept of the agreement is one of service, a model used by Nasa for private contractors under the Artemis program and beyond. It is a competitive approach, with a competitive bidding and final selection, as was the case with the moon landing service won by SpaceX and then extended to Blue Origin.

Intuitive Machines intends to make the Moon a pleasant habit: the company is leading the Moon Racer (Reusable Autonomous Crewed Exploration Rover) team, which includes AVL and Michelin, from the automotive industry, as well as Boeing and Northrop Grumman from the aerospace industry. Its lunar vehicle will be designed to land on a Nova-D lander, built by Intuitive Machines itself, a larger version of the Nova-C that in February 2024 became the first commercial probe to successfully descend to the Selenian surface.

Lunar Outpost is a startup, but strong in the support of several industry giants: it is currently engaged in the construction of four small robotic rovers and leads the Lunar Dawn team, which includes Lockheed Martin, Mda Space, General Motors and Goodyear. Lockheed and Mda Space will provide expertise in spacecraft design and robotics; the Detroit-based automaker will work on batteries and related technologies; and Goodyear will produce the tires.

Finally, Venturi Astrolab is working with Axiom Space and Odyssey Space Research on a manned version of its Flex rover, which it intends to send to the Moon with a SpaceX Starship in late 2026.

At the moment, only one winner is expected to be awarded but, as is often the case (and as happened precisely with the lunar landing system), changes in progress cannot be ruled out.

Let’s go exploring

Nasa’s requirements say a lot about the purposes the new exploration vehicle will have: the Ltv will be more much much more complex than the Lunar Roving Vehicle used by the crews of the Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions. Like its predecessor, it will not be pressurized, so even when it does have a cabin-like at least one of the three concepts, that of Lunar Outpost-it will not be usable without an extravehicular activity suit, which is necessary for all operations in the vacuum of space.

The Ltv will also need to be able to be operated remotely, by astronauts on the surface, from the Gateway, the soon-to-be-built lunar-orbiting space base, or from Earth. In fact, during periods when there are no astronauts on the Selenian surface, the Ltv will be used as a robotic rover, to continue unmanned inspections and exploration.

“We will use the Ltv to travel to places we could not otherwise reach on foot, increasing our ability to explore and make new scientific discoveries,” said Jacob Bleacher, chief of exploration at Nasa’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate. “With the manned Artemis missions, and during remote operations when there is no crew on the surface, we will enable scientific research and exploration on the Moon year-round.

As previously written, unlike the sunlit moors beaten in the 1960s and 1970s, the next lunar adventure involves arriving at the South Pole. There, where the sunlight reaches almost parallel to the ground, the concepts of day and night become evanescent and the shadows are very long. Some areas are perpetually lit, others always in darkness. It is there, perhaps at the bottom of depressions and craters, that one will go in search of water ice. Therefore, among the requirements for the vehicles are to be able to operate for at least two hours in the perennial shaded areas and two hours outside of them. And to be able to cope with slopes of up to 20° (about 35 percent). One looks at maps of the region to have a vehicle that can take explorers, or remotely operated surveys, to the most interesting spots without excessive risk.

These are all typical features of exploration activities in a hostile environment, starting with the required range: 20 kilometers and 8 hours during a single Eva before needing to be recharged, with a carrying capacity of 800 to 1,600 pounds. The Ltv is to have two seats with safe accommodation even for an “incapacitated” crew member, thus in anticipation of a possible injury or accident to one of the astronauts. It will have to be guaranteed 1,500 kilometers per year of autonomy, a maximum speed of 15 kilometers per hour, and the ability to cover 6 kilometers in 24 hours during long trips in the unmanned phases. The Ltv will also have to endure periods of hibernation and at least 150 hours in the shadows without compromising operational capability.

An all-inclusive ‘rental’

One significant aspect concerns the type of service the contractor will have to provide. Nasa explicitly writes that it will “contract the Ltv as a service from industry, rather than owning the rover. Contracting for services from industry partners allows Nasa to leverage commercial innovation and provide the best value to U.S. taxpayers while achieving the science and exploration goals of human spaceflight.”

As in a charter of sorts, the company that wins the contract will be required to take care of everything (end-to-end), starting with getting, physically, the Ltv to where it is needed. Therefore, before selecting the winner, Nasa will also review proposals for delivery to the Moon of the Ltv (launch and descent) and surface operations. After that, once development is complete, it will be necessary to launch, lunar land within 100 meters of the chosen site and test the vehicle that astronauts on the Artemis V (2030) and subsequent missions will find available once they have landed.

The Lunar Terrain Vehicle is to be equipped with slots for cameras and camcorders, scientific instruments and a mechanical arm to store samples. It will also act as a communications “node” between the astronauts and other Nasa centers, in orbit and on Earth, which is why it will have to mount devices to maintain audio and video contact, and provide (also under the responsibility of the contractor) the exact location of the vehicle and its occupants. Under instructions from Nasa, it will be responsible for performing all operations, particularly during periods when no crew will be present. Outside the windows of use by Nasa, the private company will be able to use the Ltv to develop its own business.

It is hard not to notice the tried-and-true U.S. strategy, which will soon extend from orbit to the Moon: investing billions of dollars to incubate ideas and cultivate, in space companies, advanced skills. Like that of navigating and exploring another world in pursuit of new opportunities. Because even on the Moon, business will be “just around the corner,” within headlight range.