Nuked Venturi astrolab has revealed its new interplanetary Rover. The company plans to build a fleet of these rovers over the coming decade to help NASA and commercial companies establish a long-term presence on the moon.
The rover can carry many different types of objects, so long as they are built to an agreed-upon standard of size and shape. It can even be modified to include a crew interface, allowing astronauts to ride on the rover while guiding it through lunar terrain.
Nasa is working to send the first woman and the first person of color to the moon through the space agency’s Artemis program. Companies like SpaceX and blue origin are developing their own landers that will be able to take people to the lunar surface.
‘we want to solve the local transportation problem, and ultimately set the standard for lunar logistics,’ says Matthews. Spacex and blue origin are solving the long haul transportation problem.
Matthews started his career at NASA’s jet propulsion laboratory. He worked on the twin spirit and opportunity rovers that were launched to Mars in 2003. He then left to go to SpaceX, working on the company’s crew Dragon spacecraft and the technology needed for it to dock with the ISS.
Astrolab has already built a full-scale prototype of flex, which the company recently tested drove out in the California desert near death Valley. Former astronaut Chris Hadfield, who’s on astrolab’s board of advisers, gave his advice on how the vehicle’s design held up.
Astrolab wants to be able to carry as much cargo as possible. The company likens it to how shipping containers on earth are made to specific international standards.
The company says the final Rover should weigh about 1,100 pounds, or 500 kilograms. It will be built specifically to handle the lunar terrain.
Lunar night temperatures can drop below -208 degrees Fahrenheit, or -130 degrees Celsius. Solar array will be able to withstand and stay warm between 100 and 300 hours of nighttime at the moon’s South Pole.
Astrobotic’s Griffin lander is supposed to carry a NASA Rover to the moon. When it’s complete, Flex will reportedly be able to launch on multiple types of rockets and landers.
Astrolab has reached out to potential customers including SpaceX, whose headquarters are next door to astrolab’s in Hawthorne. With a mission control center already built, along with a thermal vacuum chamber for testing, astrolab wants to send up its first flex Rovers in the years ahead.
Nasa recently delayed its first landing date for Artemis to 2025. Nasa says a 2026 landing is more realistic. That gives astrolab even more time to get the flex up and running.
