spacetoday.net: New lunar rover projects announced

Posted: Sat, May 29, 2021, 4:27 PM ET (2027 GMT)
Several lunar rover projects, from small robotic ones to those that could carry astronauts, are in development. The Japanese space agency JAXA said Wednesday it will fly a small rover, the size of a baseball, on a commercial lander being developed by ispace and scheduled for launch next year. The Canadian Space Agency separately confirmed Wednesday its plans to develop a small robotic rover, carrying Canadian and NASA instruments, that will launch on a commercial lander in the next five years. Lockheed Martin said it is teaming with General Motors to design a rover for use by astronauts on Artemis missions later in the decade. The companies disclosed few details about that rover's design, but said they expect to bid on a NASA competition later this year to fund development of a rover.