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by: MARCIA DUNN, Associated Press
Posted: May 26, 2021 / 1:55 PM CDT
Updated: May 26, 2021 / 2:15 p.m. CDT
This May 2021 illustration by General Motors and Lockheed Martin shows astronauts and concepts of lunar rovers on the lunar surface. On Wednesday, May 26, 2021, Lockheed and GM announced that they would pool their technology and manufacturing expertise to build the electric vehicles for NASA’s Artemis program, named after the twin sister of Apollo is named. (Lockheed Martin, GM via AP)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – General Motors partners with Lockheed Martin to produce the ultimate self-driving off-road electric vehicles for the moon.
The project announced on Wednesday is still in its infancy and has not yet received any NASA money. The goal, however, is to develop lightweight yet robust vehicles that travel farther and faster than the moon rovers that carried NASA’s Apollo astronauts in the early 1970s, the companies said.
“Mobility will really open up the moon for us,” said Kirk Shireman, a former NASA executive and now vice president of lunar research at Lockheed Martin.
The rovers of the moonwalkers Apollo 15, 16 and 17 did not venture further than three miles from their landers. GM also helped design these vehicles.
NASA published a call for industrial ideas for moon rovers last year. The space agency plans to bring astronauts back to the moon by 2024, a deadline set by the previous White House.
According to company representatives, their first rovers will be designed for the simultaneous transport of two astronauts. A short corporate video showed a large, open rover speeding over the slopes of the moon, with more headlights in the distance.
This is “just a glimpse of the opportunities we see,” said Jeff Ryder, vice president of GM Defense.
By operating autonomously when required, says Shireman, the rovers can safely keep astronauts away from dangerous locations such as the permanently shaded craters on the moon’s south pole. Frozen water collected from these dark corners could be used for drinking, growing plants, and making rocket fuel.
Autonomy could also improve efficiency as astronauts focus on collecting rocks while a rover follows like a puppy, he said.
In a separate project that began two years ago, Toyota partnered with the Japanese space agency to build an electrically powered, push-powered moon rover for astronauts. They call it the moon cruiser.
GM and Lockheed Martin’s vehicle will be depressurized, which means drivers must wear spacesuits at all times. According to Shireman, there is room for both models.
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The Associated Press Department of Health and Science is supported by the Department of Science Education of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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