The astronauts of the Artemis 5 mission are expected to drive the Lunar Terrain Vehicle on the Moon for the first time in 2030.
Recently, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) selected three private research teams led by the companies Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab to develop versions of the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV), which the Artemis program astronauts will operate around the Moon’s south pole in 2030.
NASA aims to have a Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) on the Moon when the Artemis 5 crew arrives in 2030. (Image: Lunar Outpost).
“We look forward to the development of Artemis generation lunar exploration vehicles to enhance what we learn on the Moon. These vehicles will significantly boost our exploration capabilities and enable scientific research on the lunar surface by our astronauts,” said Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, in a statement.
In the coming year, each of the private research teams led by Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab will proceed to develop their prototype Lunar Terrain Vehicle, followed by participation in critical demonstrations and tests before the Artemis 5 astronauts arrive at the Moon’s south pole in 2030.
NASA officials also stated in a release: “NASA intends to award the contract to only one outstanding provider after rigorous testing demonstrations.”
The selected team will not only be responsible for manufacturing the Lunar Terrain Vehicle but also for supporting its delivery to the Moon’s south pole. This will mark the first lunar vehicle developed by the U.S. since the Lunar Roving Vehicle debuted in the Apollo 15 mission in 1971.
So far, NASA has completed one mission of the Artemis program – Artemis 1, which sent an Orion spacecraft into lunar orbit (and back) at the end of 2022. Artemis 2 is scheduled to launch four astronauts around the Moon in September 2025, and Artemis 3 will land near the south pole of the Moon a year later, provided everything goes according to plan. NASA aims to have a Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) on the Moon for the Artemis 5 crew to drive around the south pole of the Moon in 2030.
