• 美国宇航局选择了 Intuitive Machines、Lunar Outpost 和 Venturi Astrolab 作为选择过程的下一步。
• 经过可行性测试后，美国宇航局将选择一辆月球地形车进行月球演示任务。
• 当美国宇航局不需要时，获胜的承包商将被允许远程使用漫游车。

美国宇航局本周宣布，它已将潜在的月球地形车（LTV）制造商名单缩小到只有三家公司。它们是 Intuitive Machines、Lunar Outpost 和 Venturi Astrolab。

两家公司现在将开始为期一年的可行性任务订单，要求他们通过初步设计成熟阶段开发一个符合NASA要求的系统。最终，LTV必须能够应对月球南极的极端条件，同时将机组人员从阿尔忒弥斯任务的作战基地远距离运送。

阅读：通用汽车在新视频中展示其月球车概念

美国宇航局表示，这些车辆将需要先进的电源管理技术、最先进的通信技术和自动驾驶能力。最后一个功能将特别重要，因为该组织希望即使在月球上没有宇航员的情况下也能使用 LTV。

“我们将使用LTV前往我们可能无法步行到达的地方，提高我们探索和做出新科学发现的能力，”美国宇航局探索系统开发任务理事会首席勘探科学家Jacob Bleacher说。“通过阿尔忒弥斯载人任务，以及在地表没有机组人员的远程操作期间，我们正在全年在月球上进行科学和发现。https://www.carscoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lunar-Outpost-LTV-1024x707.jpg

图片来源：月球前哨站

但美国宇航局不会是唯一一个被允许使用它的人。当该组织不需要 LTV 时，最终赢得制造漫游车合同的公司（成本高达 46 亿美元）也将能够将其用于自己的商业目的。

然而，在他们到达那里之前，这三家承包商将不得不用可行性任务订单给美国宇航局留下深刻印象。在那之后，政府组织计划选择一家公司来完成月球示范任务，以确保LTV的安全，然后从计划于2030年3月到2039年的阿尔忒弥斯五号任务投入使用。

阿尔忒弥斯计划是载人火星任务的垫脚石。作为该计划的一部分，美国宇航局计划将第一位女性、有色人种和国际合作伙伴送上月球表面，以期进行科学发现、发展技术并造福经济。https://www.carscoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Intuitive-Machines-LTV-1024x576.jpg

图片来源：Intuitive Machineshttps://www.carscoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Venturi-Astrolab-LTV-1024x576.jpg

图片来源：文丘里星盘实验室

原文

Moon Buggy Race! Top 3 Vie For NASA’s $4.6 Billion Lunar Rover Contract

The lunar terrain vehicle will need to go long distances and be driven autonomously, so that it can work with or without astronauts

by Sebastien Bell

• NASA chose Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab for the next step of the selection process.
• After a feasibility test, NASA will select a single lunar terrain vehicle for a demonstration mission to the moon.
• The winning contractor will be allowed to use the rover remotely when NASA doesn’t need it.

NASA announced this week that it has narrowed down the list of potential lunar terrain vehicle (LTV) manufacturers to just three companies. They are Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab.

The companies will now begin a year-long feasibility task order that will require them to develop a system that meets NASA’s requirements through a preliminary design maturity phase. Ultimately, the LTV must be able to handle the extreme conditions of the moon’s South Pole while carrying crew long distances from their base of operations for Artemis missions.

Read: GM Shows Off Its Lunar Rover Concept In New Video

NASA says that the vehicles will need advanced power management technologies, state-of-the-art communications technology, and the ability to drive autonomously. That last feature will be particularly important, because the organization wants to be able to use the LTV even when there are no astronauts on the moon.

“We will use the LTV to travel to locations we might not otherwise be able to reach on foot, increasing our ability to explore and make new scientific discoveries,” said Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist in the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA. “With the Artemis crewed missions, and during remote operations when there is not a crew on the surface, we are enabling science and discovery on the Moon year around.”

But NASA won’t be the only one allowed to use it. When the organization doesn’t need the LTV, the company that ultimately wins the contract to make the rover, which will cost up to $4.6 billion, will also be able to use it for its own commercial purposes.

However, before they get there, the three contractors will have to impress NASA with a feasibility task order. After that, the government organization plans to select a single company that will complete a demonstration mission to the moon in order to ensure that the LTV is safe, before being put into service from the Artemis V mission, that’s scheduled for March 2030, until 2039.

The Artemis program is a stepping stone towards crewed missions to Mars. As part of the program, NASA plans to send the first woman, person of color, and international partner to the surface of the moon, with a view to making scientific discoveries, evolving technology, and benefiting the economy.