NASA administrator Jared Isaacman unveiled the space agency's next small steps toward its long-sought giant leap of creating a permanent human outpost on the moon in the 2030s.
Introduction to Lunar Ambitions The announcement included contract awards to private companies for new crewed lunar vehicles and additional uncrewed cargo landers, as well as additional technological milestones and timelines for NASA's planned sequence of crewed missions as part of its Artemis program.
Lunar Terrain Vehicles NASA officials awarded contracts in excess of $200 million apiece to two private aerospace companies, Astrolab of Hawthorne, Calif., and Lunar Outpost of Golden, Colo., for building and delivering the first astronaut-toting lunar terrain vehicles (LTVs). These solar-powered vehicles should travel at 10 kilometers per hour with a 200-kilometer range and are capable of autonomous navigation. If all goes well, says NASA's Robert Pickle, who manages the LTV program, one or both companies should have their vehicles on the moon ahead of Artemis IV to help scout the surrounding terrain before and after that mission.
Future Missions The March moon base plan additionally turned next year's Artemis III mission, formerly scheduled to send astronauts to the moon's surface, into a high-stakes crewed test of both SpaceX's and Blue Origin's lunar landing vehicles in Earth orbit. NASA will announce Artemis III's four astronaut crew members on June 9 at Johnson Space Center in Houston. With these developments, NASA is moving closer to establishing a permanent human presence on the moon, with the first lunar terrain vehicles expected to play a crucial role in the upcoming Artemis missions.
Source: NASA's Jared Isaacman unveiled the first moon base rovers and landers
Domain: scientificamerican.com
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