Engineers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are designing an unpressurised rover prototype, known as the Ground Test Unit, that will employ a flexible architecture to simulate and evaluate a series of different rover concepts for use, beginning with the Artemis V mission.
When astronauts return to the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, they will explore the lunar surface aboard a human-rated unpressurised LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle). In April, as part of the Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services (LTVS) contract, NASA selected three vendors – Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost and Venturi Astrolab – to supply rover capabilities.
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While the new test unit will never go to the Moon, it will support the development of additional rover prototypes that will enable NASA and the three companies to continue making progress until one of the providers comes online. Additionally, data provided from GTU testing will help inform both NASA and the commercial companies as they continue evolving their rover designs by serving as an engineering testbed for the LTV providers to test their technologies on crew compartment design, rover maintenance and payload science integration, among other things.
‘The Ground Test Unit will help NASA teams on the ground test and understand all aspects of rover operations on the lunar surface ahead of Artemis missions,’ said Jeff Somers, the engineering lead for the GTU. ‘The GTU allows NASA to be a smart buyer, so we are able to test and evaluate rover operations while we work with the LTVS contractors and their hardware.’
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The LTVS contractors have requirements that align with the existing GTU capabilities. As with the test unit, the vendor-developed LTV should support up to two crewmembers and have the ability to be operated remotely, and should be able to implement multiple control concepts such as drive modes, self-levelling and supervised autonomy. Having a NASA prototype of the vehicle that astronauts will drive on the Moon here on Earth allows many teams to test capabilities while also getting hands-on engineering experience developing rover hardware.
As vendor designs evolve, the contracted LTV as well as the GTU allow for testing before missions head to the Moon. The vehicles on the ground also allow NASA to reduce some risks when it comes to adapting new technologies or specific rover design features.
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According to NASA, human surface mobility will help to increase the exploration footprint on the lunar surface, allowing each mission to conduct more research and increase the value to the scientific community. Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts – including the first woman, first person of colour and its first international partner astronaut – to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, technology evolution, economic benefits and to build the foundation for future crewed missions to Mars.
More information about the rovers, suits and tools that will be used by Artemis astronauts to explore more of the Moon, click here.