NASA is paying two companies millions to provide specialized lunar vehicles to help support the agency’s moon base missions.
The agency said Tuesday it’s paying Astrolab $219 million and Lunar Outpost $220 million for their work on the first phase of the moon plans.
The Astrolab Crewed Lunar Vehicle, or CLV-1, will move astronauts and supplies in support of remote operations on the moon, NASA said.
The CLV-1 will weigh about 2,000 pounds and go as fast as 6 mph on level terrain.
Lunar Outpost’s Pegasus rover will be lighter and drive up to 9 mph.
Astronauts will be able to choose among manually driving Pegasus, letting it go autonomously or steering it via remote control, NASA said.
Using multiple rovers, NASA said, will let the agency “characterize terrain hazards, move materials, pre-stage resources, and mature systems needed for long-duration lunar exploration.”
The two companies said on their websites that they expect their rovers to be sent into space in 2028.
The rovers will be sent to the moon via Blue Origin, the space company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Blue Origin was awarded an initial $188 million, in addition to “an option period worth $280.4 million for two task orders,” NASA said.
NASA has three unmanned moon base mission launches planned in the months ahead.
The first launch, operated by Blue Origin, will happen no earlier than this fall, though NASA did not mention any rovers being included in its cargo. Instead, it will bring cameras that will look at how thrusters affect the moon’s surface.
The second and third launches are planned for “later this year,” NASA said. The second mission will include an unmanned Astrolab FLIP, “the largest U.S. rover to ever operate on the lunar surface,” the company says on its website.
The third launch will include material from the European Space Agency and South Korea’s Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, NASA said, “reflecting commercial and international participation.”
