General Motors: Moon as a permanent prez 🎥
FUTURE With the company Lockheed Martin, General Motors intends to announce the production of a Lunar Terrain Vehicle for the upcoming Artemis mission. The goal is to establish a permanent presence on the moon and build a base. With the Lunar Rover Vehicle Apollo astronauts in the early 70s the Earth's satellite for the first time under the wheels. This, of course, includes a fleet of vehicles, with [...]
In the early 1970s, Apollo astronauts used the Lunar Rover Vehicle to travel around the Earth's satellite for the first time.
Of course, this also includes a vehicle fleet with which the astronauts can explore the environment and conduct experiments. Concrete data such as size, weight or range of the electrically powered LTV are not yet known.
But the next lunar car will certainly go much further than the Lunar Rover Vehicle (see video), with which the Apollo astronauts first took the Earth's satellite under their wheels in the early 1970s and in whose development GM was also involved.
Excursions to the south pole of the moon
However, if the latter was able to move just 7.6 kilometers from the landing site, "the next-generation rovers will dramatically increase the astronauts' range," explains Rick Ambrose, executive vice-president in charge of Lockheed Martin Space. For example, they will also enable excursions to the moon's south pole, where it is cold and dark and the terrain is rugged.
Closed vehicle like the Toyota
The future lunar rovers are also to be able to move autonomously, so that they can transport payloads or undertake independent exploratory journeys. To this end, GM plans to develop the electric powertrain and the systems for automated driving.
It is also conceivable that the LTV will first be flown alone to the moon, where it will then be available for several Artemis missions. In addition to the open vehicle, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is also planning a larger, closed vehicle, such as the one Toyota is currently developing for the lunar program of the Japanese space agency Jaxa.
gm.com
lockheedmartin.com
global.jaxa.jp
