NASA has awarded Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost and Venturi Astrolab positions on a potential $4.6 billion contract to develop a lunar terrain vehicle for the space agency’s Artemis moon exploration program.
The agency said Wednesday it plans to procure the LTV as a service from industry through the Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services program, a milestone-based indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with firm-fixed-price task orders.
Each vendor will conduct a year-long study to build a system that meets NASA requirements as part of a feasibility task order.
The agency intends to select one provider for the demonstration mission to continue building the vehicle, bring it to the lunar surface and validate its safety and performance ahead of Artemis V with plans to award additional task orders to develop unpressurized rover capabilities for scientific exploration and moonwalking requirements through 2039.
NASA expects the LTV to enable crews to transport scientific equipment and gather samples of the lunar surface. The vehicle will feature technologies to support autonomous driving, power management, navigation and communications.
“This vehicle will greatly increase our astronauts’ ability to explore and conduct science on the lunar surface while also serving as a science platform between crewed missions,” said Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Lunar Outpost will develop its proposed Lunar Dawn LTV with industry partners Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), General Motors (NYSE: GM), Goodyear (Nasdaq: GT) and MDA Space.
Astrolab will work with Axiom Space and Odyssey Space Research to further advance the development of its Flexible Logistics and Exploration or FLEX rover.
Intuitive Machines will collaborate with AVL, Boeing (NYSE: BA), Michelin and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) as part of the Moon Reusable Autonomous Crewed Exploration Rover or the Moon RACER team.
