spacetoday.net: NASA selects three companies for Artemis lunar rover development

Posted: Sat, Apr 6, 2024, 10:35 AM ET (1435 GMT)
Lunar Terrain Vehicle illustration (NASA)

NASA has selected three companies to work on lunar rover designs that could be used on future Artemis missions. NASA announced Wednesday that it selected teams led by Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost and Venturi Astrolab for its Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) Services contract. The three companies will each get task orders to spend the next 12 months refining the designs of the rovers and conduct a preliminary design review. NASA will then select one company for a demonstration task order, funding development of the rover and delivery to the moon. NASA will then procure use of the rover as a service, both for use by astronauts on missions starting with Artemis 5 as well as for robotic exploration when astronauts are not present. Companies can also use the rover for other customers. The contract has an overall maximum value of $4.6 billion over 15 years, but NASA did not disclose the value of the initial task orders.