NASA reveals lunar racer car that’ll transport astronauts to uncharted destinations on the Moon
- NASA has unveiled a new lunar race car to transport astronauts
- It’s hoped the autonomous vehicle will take them to mysterious lunar destinations considered ‘unreachable’ by foot
- It’s hoped this mission will happen in the 2030s
Published on Apr 04, 2024 at 8:09 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Apr 05, 2024 at 7:47 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Adam Gray
In hopes of reaching uncharted destinations on the Moon, NASA have unveiled a new lunar race car to transport astronauts.
It’s hoped the autonomous vehicle will take them to mysterious lunar destinations considered ‘unreachable’ by foot.
It will help Artemis astronauts reach mysterious, never-before-explored destinations, deemed unreachable by foot, during the 2030s.
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Three companies, including Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab will develop the new lunar racer car over a year-long study.
Their involvement forms part of a $4.6 billion contract over the next 13 years.
It was Intuitive Machines who were responsible for building the Odysseus Moon lander that suffered an awkward lunar touchdown earlier this year after sending back a final, poignant image.
The lunar terrain rover (LTV) is key to NASA’s 2029 Artemis V mission.
The mission hopes to take two astronauts to the Moon to explore, and another two to refuel the ESA’s refueling module onboard the first-ever lunar space station.
It will include scientific research aimed at recovering the secrets of the lunar south pole.
This is where it’s believed water-based ice would most likely be located.
Its discovery is key to future human habitation on the Moon.
NASA will launch its Artemis III mission, the first human assignment on the Moon since Apollo 17, in 2026.
Nasa has stipulated that the lunar racer car must accommodate two suited astronauts.
It should also be capable of withstanding the extreme conditions of the Moon’s surface.
To put that into context – temperatures can drop to as low as -230 degrees Celsius (-382 degrees Fahrenheit) in some shadowed regions of the Moon’s south pole.
Autonomy is necessary so that the car can be controlled from Earth to explore without astronauts physically being in situ.
“We will use the LTV to travel to locations we might not otherwise be able to reach on foot, increasing our ability to explore and make new scientific discoveries,” Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist in the NASA Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said.
“With the Artemis crewed missions, and during remote operations when there is not a crew on the surface, we are enabling science and discovery on the Moon year-round.”
Yesterday, the White House reportedly directed NASA to create a standard Moon time for all nations.
It follows a similar call by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2023.
Nasa-led Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC) is hoped to be in place by the end of 2026.
Some of the images in this article were created using AI.
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All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
