Michigan, Beritasatu.com – Lockheed Martin and General Motors collaborated to develop a new type of vehicle for NASA astronauts and cargo to use during the upcoming Artemis mission to misi month. Thus Lockheed announced as quoted on Sunday (30/5/2021).
“Surface mobility is very important for long-term exploration of the lunar surface. This next-generation rover will expand the reach of astronauts,” Lockheed Martin Executive Vice President Rick Ambrose said in a statement.
Earlier this year, NASA stated that the company needed a human-class rover that would expand the exploration range of astronauts during missions for the agency’s Artemis program. The NASA program, announced by the administration of former President Donald Trump and continued under President Joe Biden, consists of several missions to orbit and the lunar surface in the years to come.
NASA’s request for a next-generation lunar vehicle notes that it must take advantage of a range of cutting-edge technologies, including electric vehicle systems, autonomous driving, and treacherous terrain capabilities.
GM has made such vehicles before, as the company was the main subcontractor that helped Boeing build the lunar rover vehicles used during the three Apollo missions on the moon.
While previous NASA rover was able to drive almost around the moon at a speed of six miles per hour. He traveled less than 5 miles from the Apollo landing site.
Lockheed Martin says the next-generation lunar vehicle is being designed to cover much greater distances in order to support the first trip of the moon’s south pole, which is cold and dark with more rugged terrain.
Source: CNBC
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