NASA wants to return to the moon in 2024 and that means that the organization responsible for the United States space program can once again focus attention on the development of a new moon car. The agency is on a quest for ideas and is asking potential industrial partners for help.
NASA is currently working on the Artemis space program, a project that aims to return to the moon around 2024. In the end, people had to be put on the moon again in the 1930s. Project Artemis, named after the twin sister of Apollo (the first American manned lunar program), requires a new moon car and for this NASA asks potential partners for help.
NASA contacts American companies and manufacturers in a message on its website. The space organization asks potential partners to help think about how NASA can ‘move’ on the lunar surface. NASA specifically addresses the automotive industry. “We also want to hear from companies that are leaders in the field of electric cars and off-road models. This project goes beyond the space industry.” NASA wants the moon cars “to use the latest innovations in energy storage and management for electric vehicles, autonomous driving and extreme environmental resistance”.
NASA talks about the development of a LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle) without cabin pressure, which means that the astronauts – just like in the well-known moon robber that was deployed during the Apollo missions – have to put them in their space suits. “While walking, astronauts can cover around 800 meters in their suits. If we have a moon car ready before the space team arrives on the moon, that increases the effectiveness and revenue of the missions exponentially,” NASA reports.