The companies are teaming up to create a lunar rover that will be used in the Artemis program. There are already two independent teams fighting to get a contract from NASA.
Lockheed Martin and General Motors became partners
On April 4, Lockheed Martin announced that the Canadian company MDA has joined a partnership with General Motors to develop a rover for the Artemis lunar program. This firm is known as the developer of the Canadarm robotic arm, which is used on the International Space Station.
Now all the experience gained during the creation and operation of this mechanism will be applied on the Moon. The rover is planned to be equipped with a manipulator that will be able to perform a variety of tasks. To create it, MDA will use the same technical solutions and software as in Canadarm. Only they will be used in a different way.
It is planned the lunar rover for Artemis will have two control modes. In the first, it will receive commands from Earth, in the second, these functions will be taken over by astronauts. It is the second mode that is currently receiving maximum attention.
Which companies are teaming up in another team
The team, which includes Lockheed Martin, General Motors, MDA, Intuitive Machines, Michelin, is not the only one claiming to create a robotic assistant for the upcoming lunar mission. Another group of companies consists of Teledyne Brown Engineering, Sierra Space and Nissan North America. The main developer is the first firm, while the second and third provide the project with software and their experience in the automotive industry.
Teledyne Brown claims that their developments are based on concepts from the 60s of the last century for the previous American lunar program. However, these developments will be improved thanks to modern technologies.
The Artemis program is a very ambitious lunar exploration project. It unites not only a super-heavy rocket and a spacecraft for landing on the surface of our moon. It is planned to create a permanent lunar base with a powerful infrastructure. Therefore, for all enterprises producing high-tech products, anything related to the Moon is a tasty morsel.
The competition for the creation of a new lunar rover has not yet been officially announced. NASA is just collecting information about the capabilities of companies. But they are already teaming up to secure victory in a new competition.
According to Spacenews.com
Follow us on Twitter to get the most interesting space news in time
https://twitter.com/ust_magazine
