GMpartners with Lockheed Martin to produce lunar rover for NASA

General Motors is teaming up with Lockheed Martin to develop a lunar vehicle for NASA's first excursions on the moon's South Pole. It will be used in NASA's upcoming Artemis program to send humans to the unexplored part of the moon.Unlike the Apollo rovers, the new lunar vehicles can travel farther distances to explore the moon's south pole, which is cold and dark with more rugged terrain.

The autonomous, self-driving system will allow the rover to provide a more enhanced payload with better range and utility. Also, the self-driving systems enable the vehicle to operate with or without humans on board."Surface mobility is critical to enable and sustain long-term exploration of the lunar surface. These next-generation rovers will dramatically extend the range of astronauts," said Rick Ambrose, VP, Lockheed Martin Space.

General Motors has previously been associated with the engineering of the Lunar Rover Vehicle that the Apollo 15 astronauts drove on the moon.The Lockheed Martin-GM rovers would be designed to survive and even operate in the 14-day long night that sees temperatures down to -280 degrees Fahrenheit and daytime temperatures of 260 Fahrenheit.

Lockheed Martin has a rich legacy and history of working with NASA, and it is looking forward to further leveraging that with the newly proposed rover. Kirk Shireman, Vice-President, Lunar Exploration Campaigns at Lockheed Martin, said that their goal was to build an affordable vehicle, which exceeds our customer requirements, and that too rapidly.