NASA prepares to test lunar terrain probe

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins takes Apollo 17 Lunar Module Pilot Harrison “Jack” Schmidt aboard NASA’s rover prototype at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Credit: NASA/James Blair
When astronauts return to the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, they will benefit from having a human-rated, unpressurized LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle), allowing them to explore more of the Moon’s surface. This enables a wide variety of scientific discoveries.
As the crewed Artemis mission approaches, engineers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are designing a prototype unpressurized rover known as the Ground Test Unit. This test unit employs a flexible architecture to simulate and evaluate various spacecraft concepts used in Artemis V and beyond.
In April 2024, NASA selected Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab as vendors to provide rover capabilities for astronauts on the Moon as part of the Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services Agreement. I did. Although this test unit will not go to the moon, it will support the development of additional rover prototypes and allow NASA and the three companies to continue making progress until one of the providers comes online.
Additionally, the data provided from the GTU test will serve as an engineering testbed for LTV providers to test technologies related to crew cabin design, rover maintenance, and payload science integration to advance the rover design. Continue Helps provide information to both NASA and commercial companies. To name a few examples.


A qualified NASA engineer sits on a rover prototype during testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Credit: NASA/Bill Stafford
“The Ground Test Unit will help NASA’s ground teams test and understand all aspects of rover operations on the lunar surface in advance of the Artemis mission,” said Jeff Summers, Ground Test Unit engineering lead. he said. “GTU allows NASA to be a prudent purchaser, allowing us to test and evaluate the rover’s operation while working with the LTVS contractor and its hardware.”
LTVS contractors have requirements that match existing GTU capabilities. Similar to vendor-developed test units, the LTV supports up to two crew members, has the ability to be remotely operated, and can implement multiple control concepts such as drive modes, self-leveling, and supervised autonomy. . Having a NASA prototype operating on the moon while we are here on Earth allows many teams to test functionality while gaining hands-on engineering experience developing the rover’s hardware.
Following the success of the Apollo Lunar Rover in the 1970s, NASA built several next-generation rover concept vehicles, including this iteration of the GTU. Manned test vehicles on Earth like GTU help NASA learn new ways that astronauts can live and work safely and productively on the Moon and, someday, on the surface of Mars.
As the vendor’s design evolves, the contracted LTV and GTU will allow for testing before the mission heads to the moon. Ground vehicles also allow NASA to reduce risk when adapting new technologies or specific spacecraft design features.
Human surface movement will help increase the exploration footprint on the lunar surface, allowing each mission to conduct more research and increase its value to the scientific community. Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts, including the first woman, first person of color, and first international partner astronaut, to explore the Moon for scientific discoveries, technological advances, and economic return. and build the foundation for future manned missions to Mars. .
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