Lunar Terrain Vehicle

Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV)
Artist's impression the Lunar Terrain Vehicle on the lunar surface (2022)
Overview
ManufacturerTBD
Production2029 (est.)
DesignerLunar Outpost, General Motors, Goodyear, Leidos, Astrolab, Axiom Space, Interlune, Odyssey Space Research
Chronology
PredecessorLunar Rover Vehicle

The Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) is an unpressurized rover being developed for NASA. Astronauts would be able to drive the LTV on the surface of the Moon while wearing space suits.[1] The development of the LTV is a part of NASA's Artemis program, which involves returning astronauts to the Moon, specifically the lunar south pole. The LTV will be the first crewed lunar rover developed by NASA since the Lunar Roving Vehicle used during the Apollo program of the 1970s.

History

On February 6, 2020, NASA issued a request, seeking industry feedback on relevant state-of-the-art commercial technologies and acquisition strategies for a new Lunar Terrain Vehicle. NASA also stated in the request that they want the LTV to draw on recent innovations in electric vehicle energy storage and management, autonomous driving, and extreme environment resistance."[2]

On August 31, 2021, NASA released another request to private companies for additional input on approaches and solutions for a vehicle to transport Artemis astronauts around the lunar south pole. NASA also asked if American companies are interested in providing the LTV as a commercial service, or as a product NASA would purchase and own.[3]

On November 2, 2022, NASA issued a draft request for proposals (RFP) for the LTV as a service (LTVS).[4] The draft was open for feedback until December 1, with a planned final RFP release date of on or about February 8, 2023, a proposals due date approximately 30 days later, and an anticipated contract award date of on or about July 19.

On January 27, 2023, NASA published an update stating that it anticipated that the LTVS final RFP release would be delayed until no later than May 26.[5] On May 26, NASA released its services request for the Lunar Terrain Vehicle, with proposals due on July 10 and a contract award scheduled for November.[6] On October 30, NASA delayed the award of the contract to March 31, 2024, to allow additional time to evaluate proposals.[7]

On April 3, 2024, NASA announced that Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost and Venturi Astrolab were the three companies developing the LTV as part of a 12-month feasibility and demonstration phase.[1][8] A source selection statement by NASA provided further details on cost and overall feasibility on April 9. The Intuitive Machines proposal was for $1.692 billion, Lunar Outpost for $1.727 billion and Astrolab for $1.928 billion to develop the vehicle.[9]

Initial proposals

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio (left) and NASA spacesuit engineer Zach Tejral (right) sit inside Astrolab’s FLEX lunar terrain vehicle evaluating the display interfaces in 2024 during testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

Five proposals for a Lunar Terrain Vehicle were publicly unveiled after NASA's initial request.

  • On May 26, 2021, Lockheed Martin and General Motors announced they would together design an LTV.[10] On April 5, 2022, MDA Ltd. announced they would work with Lockheed Martin and General Motors to integrate MDA's commercial robotic arm technology on their planned human-rated lunar mobility vehicles.[11] On July 20, 2022, Goodyear announced they would join Lockheed Martin and General Motors to develop tires for the LTV drawing from its advanced airless tire technology.[12]
  • On November 16, 2021, Northrop Grumman announced they would work with AVL, Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Michelin to design an LTV.[13]
  • On April 7, 2022, Teledyne Brown Engineering announced that it would lead a team including Sierra Space and Nissan North America to design a crewed LTV.[14] On September 22, Teledyne announced that Bridgestone would also join its team and provide tires for the LTV.[15]
  • On March 31, 2023, Astrolab Incorporated announced that they expected to offer their FLEX (Flexible Logistics and Exploration) rover for the upcoming LTV competition.[16]
  • On April 17, 2023, Leidos and NASCAR announced they would collaborate in the areas of speed, safety and reliability to develop an LTV.[17]
A 2026 artist's rendering of Lunar Outpost's Pegasus lunar terrain vehicle on the lunar surface.

Selected proposals

On May 26, 2026, NASA awarded two contracts for lunar rovers for crew to drive on the Moon. The selected proposals were:

Plans

In 2023, NASA planned to launch the Lunar Terrain Vehicle on Artemis V, which at the time was expected to launch no earlier than March 2030.[20]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Chang, Kenneth (3 April 2024). "NASA Picks 3 Companies to Help Astronauts Drive Around the Moon - The agency's future moon buggies will reach speeds of 9.3 miles per hour and will be capable of self-driving". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 April 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  2. ↑ "NASA to Industry: Send Ideas for Lunar Rovers". NASA. February 6, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  3. ↑ "NASA Prompts Companies for Artemis Lunar Terrain Vehicle Solutions". NASA. August 31, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  4. ↑ "NASA Makes Progress with New Lunar Terrain Vehicle Moon Rover Services". 2 November 2022.
  5. ↑ "SAM.Gov Lunar Terrain Vehicle opportunity". sam.gov. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  6. ↑ "NASA Pursues Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services for Artemis Missions". NASA. May 26, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  7. ↑ "NASA delays Artemis lunar rover award by four months". SpaceNews. November 4, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  8. ↑ "NASA Selects Companies to Advance Moon Mobility for Artemis Missions - NASA". Retrieved 2024-04-03.
  9. ↑ Foust, Jeff (2024-04-15). "NASA document outlines selection of lunar rover companies". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
  10. ↑ "Lockheed Martin, General Motors Team Up to Develop Next-Generation Lunar Rover for NASA Artemis Astronauts to Explore the Moon". media.gm.com. November 16, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  11. ↑ "MDA Joins Lockheed Martin and General Motors On Next Generation Lunar Rover Development". mda.space. April 5, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  12. ↑ "GOODYEAR JOINS LOCKHEED MARTIN TO COMMERCIALIZE LUNAR MOBILITY". corporate.goodyear.com. July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Northrop Grumman Announces Team for NASA's Next-Generation Lunar Terrain Vehicle". news.northropgrumman.com. November 16, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Teledyne, Sierra Space and Nissan Designing Next-Generation Lunar Terrain Vehicle for NASA". tbe.com. April 7, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Bridgestone Joins Teledyne Lunar Terrain Vehicle Development Team". huntsvillebusinessjournal.com. September 11, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  16. ↑ Foust, Jeff (March 31, 2023). "Astrolab to send rover to the moon on SpaceX's Starship". SpaceNews. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Leidos, NASCAR speed into Lunar Rover race". nascar.com. April 17, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  18. ↑ "NASA Selects Lunar Outpost to Deliver Next-Gen Crewed Lunar Terrain Vehicle for Artemis Astronauts and Moon Base". lunaroutpost.com. May 26, 2026. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
  19. ↑ "NASA Selects Astrolab to Provide Lunar Rover for Artemis Astronauts' Return to the Moon" (Press release). Astrolab. May 26, 2026. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  20. ↑ Foust, Jeff (13 March 2023). "NASA planning to spend up to $1 billion on space station deorbit module". SpaceNews. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
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