Aerospace startup Astrolab unveils new modular lunar rover

Aerospace startup Venturi Astrolab revealed its new interplanetary rover designed to transport people and cargo across the surface of Moon and Mars. The firm says its plans to build a fleet of these rovers over the next decade to help NASA and other commercial companies establish a long-term presence on the Moon.

Venturi Astrolab Inc released video and photos showing its Flexible Logistics and Exploration (FLEX) vehicle riding in the rugged Californian desert near Death Valley National Park during a five-day field test in December. The rover can carry up to 1,500 kilograms of cargo, which can be placed above or below a central deck. The FLEX vehicle can be driven remotely or by two astronauts on board.

In an interview, founder and Chief executive of Astrolab, Jaret Matthews, said that his company created FLEX to address a near-future of lunar exploration where robotic landers for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program crewed lunar landers like SpaceX’s Starship deliver enormous amounts of cargo.

If NASA adopted FLEX and its modular payload platform for Artemis, it would become the first passenger-capable rover to work on the lunar surfaces since Apollo 17, the last of the six original U.S manned missions the Moon, in December 1972.