A lunar rover or Moon rover is a
space exploration
Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. While the exploration of space is carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration though is conducted both by robotic spacec ...
vehicle
A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), wa ...
designed to move across the
surface of the Moon. The
Apollo Program's
Lunar Roving Vehicle
The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is a battery-powered four-wheeled rover used on the Moon in the last three missions of the American Apollo program ( 15, 16, and 17) during 1971 and 1972. It is popularly called the Moon buggy, a play on the t ...
was driven on the Moon by members of three American crews,
Apollo 15
Apollo 15 (July 26August 7, 1971) was the ninth crewed mission in the United States' Apollo program and the fourth to Moon landing, land on the Moon. It was the first List of Apollo missions#Alphabetical mission types, J mission, with a ...
,
16, and
17. Other rovers have been partially or fully
autonomous robot
An autonomous robot is a robot that acts without recourse to human control. The first autonomous robots environment were known as Elmer and Elsie, which were constructed in the late 1940s by W. Grey Walter. They were the first robots in history ...
s, such as the Soviet Union's
Lunokhod
Lunokhod ( rus, Луноход, p=lʊnɐˈxot, "Moonwalker") was a series of Soviet robotic lunar rovers designed to land on the Moon between 1969 and 1977. Lunokhod 1 was the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on an extraterrestrial ...
s and the Chinese ''
Yutus''. Three countries have had operating rovers on the Moon: the Soviet Union, the United States and China. An Indian mission failed while Japan and Greece currently have planned missions.
Past missions
Lunokhod 1
Lunokhod 1
''Lunokhod 1'' ( Russian: Луноход-1 ("Moonwalker 1"), also known as Аппарат 8ЕЛ № 203 ("Device 8EL No. 203")) was the first of two robotic lunar rovers landed on the Moon by the Soviet Union as part of its Lunokhod program. The ...
(Луноход) was the first of two polycrystalline-panel-powered robotic lunar rovers landed on the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
as part of its
Lunokhod program
Lunokhod ( rus, Луноход, p=lʊnɐˈxot, "Moonwalker") was a series of Soviet robotic lunar rovers designed to land on the Moon between 1969 and 1977. Lunokhod 1 was the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on an extraterrestrial ...
after a previous unsuccessful attempt of a launch probe with
Lunokhod 0 (No.201) in 1969. The spacecraft which carried Lunokhod 1 was named
Luna 17
''LOK Luna 17'' (Ye-8 series) was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called ''Lunik 17''. It deployed the first robotic rover onto the surface of the Moon.
Launch
''Luna 17'' was launched from an Earth parking orbit towards ...
. The spacecraft
soft-landed on the Moon in the
Sea of Rains
Mare Imbrium (Latin ''imbrium'', the "Sea of Showers" or "Sea of Rains", "Sea of Tears") is a vast lava plain within the Imbrium Basin on the Moon and is one of the larger craters in the Solar System. The Imbrium Basin formed from the collis ...
on November 1970. Lunokhod was the first
roving remote-controlled robot to land on another
celestial body. Having worked for 11 months, Lunokhod 1 held the durability record for space rovers for more than 1 year, until a new record was set by the
Mars Exploration Rovers
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission was a robotic space mission involving two Mars rovers, ''Spirit (rover), Spirit'' and ''Opportunity (rover), Opportunity'', exploring the planet Mars. It began in 2003 with the launch of the two rover ...
.
Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle
The
Lunar Roving Vehicle
The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is a battery-powered four-wheeled rover used on the Moon in the last three missions of the American Apollo program ( 15, 16, and 17) during 1971 and 1972. It is popularly called the Moon buggy, a play on the t ...
(LRV) was a battery-powered four-wheeled
rover
Rover may refer to:
People
* Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian
* Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer
* Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist
Places
* Rover, Arkansas, US
* Rover, Missouri, US
...
used on the Moon during the last three missions of the American
Apollo program (
15,
16, and
17) during 1971 and 1972. The LRV could carry one or two
astronaut
An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
s, their equipment, and lunar samples.
Georg von Tiesenhausen
Georg Heinrich Patrick Baron von Tiesenhausen (May 18, 1914 – June 4, 2018) was a Baltic-German-born American rocket scientist.
After being brought to the United States in 1953 as part of Operation Paperclip, he was part of Wernher von Braun' ...
is credited with submitting the original design, before it was sent to
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
for implementation.
Lunokhod 2
Lunokhod 2
''Lunokhod 2'' (russian: Луноход-2 ("Moonwalker 2"), also known as Аппарат 8ЕЛ № 204 ("Device 8EL No. 204")) was the second of two unmanned lunar rovers that landed on the Moon by the Soviet Union as part of the Lunokhod progr ...
was the second and a monocrystalline-panel-powered of two unmanned lunar rovers landed on the Moon by the Soviet Union as part of the Lunokhod program. The
Luna 21
''Luna 21'' (Ye-8 series) was an unmanned space mission, and its spacecraft, of the Luna program, also called ''Lunik 21'', in 1973. The spacecraft landed on the Moon and deployed the second Soviet lunar rover, ''Lunokhod 2''. The primary obje ...
spacecraft landed on the Moon and deployed the second Soviet lunar rover Lunokhod 2 in January 1973. The objectives of the mission were to collect images of the lunar surface, examine ambient light levels to determine the feasibility of astronomical observations from the Moon, perform laser ranging experiments, observe solar X-rays, measure local magnetic fields, and study the soil mechanics of the lunar surface material. Lunokhod 2 was intended to be followed by
Lunokhod 3 (No.205) in 1977 but the mission was cancelled.
''Yutu''
''
Yutu'' is a Chinese lunar rover which launched on 1 December 2013 and landed on 14 December 2013 as part of the
Chang'e 3
Chang'e 3 (; ) is a robotic lunar exploration mission operated by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), incorporating a robotic lander and China's first lunar rover. It was launched in December 2013 as part of the second phase of t ...
mission. It is China's first lunar rover, part of the second phase of the
Chinese Lunar Exploration Program
The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP; ), also known as the Chang'e Project () after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e, is an ongoing series of robotic Moon missions by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The program incorpor ...
undertaken by
China National Space Administration
China National Space Administration (CNSA; ) is the government agency of the People's Republic of China that is responsible for civil space administration and international space cooperation, including organizing or leading foreign exchanges ...
(CNSA). The lunar rover is called ''Yutu'', or ''Jade Rabbit'', a name selected in an online poll.
[
]
The rover encountered operational difficulties after the first 14-day lunar night, and was unable to move after the end of the second lunar night, finally on August 3, 2016 it officially stopped sending data and doing its operations.
''Pragyan'' (Chandrayaan-2 rover)
Chandrayaan-2
Chandrayaan-2 (, ; ) is the second lunar exploration mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), after Chandrayaan-1. It consists of a lunar orbiter, and also included the ''Vikram'' lander, and the ''Pragyan'' lunar ...
was the second lunar mission by India, consisting of a lunar orbiter, a lander named
''Vikram'', and a rover named
''Pragyan''. The rover weighing 27 kg, had six wheels and was to be operated on
solar power
Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...
.
Launched on 22 July 2019, the mission entered lunar orbit on August 20. ''Pragyan'' was destroyed along with its lander, ''Vikram'', when it crash-landed on the Moon on 6 September 2019 and never got the chance to deploy.
[Vikram lander located on lunar surface, wasn't a soft landing: Isro.](_blank)
''Times of India''. 8 September 2019.
Current missions
''Yutu-2''
The
Chang'e 4
Chang'e 4 (; ) is a robotic spacecraft mission, part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. China achieved humanity's first soft landing on the far side of the Moon, on 3 January 2019.
A communication relay satellit ...
Chinese mission launched 7 December 2018, and landed and deployed the ''
Yutu-2
''Yutu-2'' is the robotic lunar rover component of CNSA's Chang'e 4 mission to the Moon, launched on 7 December 2018 18:23 UTC, it entered lunar orbit on 12 December 2018 before making the first soft landing on the far side of the Moon on 3 J ...
'' rover on the
far side of the Moon
The far side of the Moon is the lunar hemisphere that always faces away from Earth, opposite to the Near side of the Moon, near side, because of synchronous rotation in the Moon's orbit. Compared to the near side, the far side's terrain is ru ...
on 3 January 2019. It is the first rover to operate on the Moon's far side.
In December 2019, ''Yutu 2'' broke the lunar longevity record, previously held by the Soviet Union's ''
Lunokhod 1
''Lunokhod 1'' ( Russian: Луноход-1 ("Moonwalker 1"), also known as Аппарат 8ЕЛ № 203 ("Device 8EL No. 203")) was the first of two robotic lunar rovers landed on the Moon by the Soviet Union as part of its Lunokhod program. The ...
'' rover, which operated on the lunar surface for eleven lunar days (321 Earth days) and traversed a total distance of .
In February 2020, Chinese astronomers reported, for the first time, a high-resolution image of a
lunar ejecta sequence, and, as well, direct analysis of its internal architecture. These were based on observations made by the
Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR) on board the ''Yutu-2'' rover while studying the
far side of the Moon
The far side of the Moon is the lunar hemisphere that always faces away from Earth, opposite to the Near side of the Moon, near side, because of synchronous rotation in the Moon's orbit. Compared to the near side, the far side's terrain is ru ...
.
Planned missions
Asagumo
The Asagumo rover weighs 1.3 kg and, instead of wheels, is equipped with four legs to walk the Moon's surface to collect the data from
Lidar
Lidar (, also LIDAR, or LiDAR; sometimes LADAR) is a method for determining ranges (variable distance) by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver. It can also be ...
and other equipment. The robot will eventually be able to explore the "
Lunar lava tube
Lunar lava tubes are lava tubes on the Moon formed during the eruption of basaltic lava flows. When the surface of a lava flow cools, it hardens and the lava can channel beneath the surface in a tube-shaped passage. Once the flow of lava diminishe ...
s". The rover will be delivered to the lunar surface on Astrobotic's Peregrine lander in 2022.
Audi Lunar quattro
Audi Lunar Quattro is a small lunar rover created by a team of engineers from
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
PTScientists, with the support of Audi and a number of scientists and companies from different countries.
Chandrayaan-3 Rover
The Chandrayaan-3 Rover will be operated by the
Indian Space Research Organisation
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman ...
. It will be launched in 2023 on the
Chandrayaan-3
Chandrayaan-3 (, ; ) is a planned third lunar exploration mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Following Chandrayaan-2, where a last-minute glitch in the soft landing guidance software led to the failure of the lander's s ...
lander, which is
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
's second attempt to soft land a rover and a lander on the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
.
Colmena
Colmena are nine microrovers created by
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...
in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. They will be launched in 2021 on Astrobotics Peregrine lander.
Iris
Iris is a lunar nanorover developed by Carnegie Mellon University for 2022 mission on Astrobotic Technology's Peregrine lander. Iris is battery-powered, 2kg, four wheel drive, skid-steered, and teleoperated. CMU is the world's first university, and the first American entity, to develop and launch a lunar rover.
Lunar Excursion Vehicle (Transformable Lunar Robot)
Takara Tomy
is a Japanese entertainment company that makes children's toys and merchandise. It was created from a merger on March 1st 2006 of two companies: Tomy (founded in 1924 as Tomiyama, changing the name to Tomy in 1963) and long-time rival Tak ...
,
JAXA
The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orb ...
and
Doshisha University
, mottoeng = Truth shall make you free
, tagline =
, established = Founded 1875,Chartered 1920
, vision =
, type = Private
, affiliation =
, calendar =
, endowment = €1 ...
are making a rover to be launched onboard
Ispace's lander called Hakuto-R. It will be launched in 2022.
MoonRanger
MoonRanger will explore the South Pole of the Moon in 2023, using its Neutron Spectrometer System to map lunar ice. The rover is autonomous, 18kg, four wheel drive, skid-steered, and solar-powered. MoonRanger is being developed by
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
under a NASA subcontract via
Astrobotic Technology.
Rashid
Rashid is a planned lunar rover built by
MBRSC to be launched onboard
Ispace's lander called Hakuto-R. The rover is planned to be launched in November 2022. It will be equipped with two high-resolution cameras, a microscopic camera to capture small details, and a thermal imaging camera. The rover will also carry a
Langmuir probe, designed to study the moon's plasma and will attempt to explain why moon dust is so sticky.
The rover will study the lunar surface, mobility on the moon’s surface and how different surfaces interact with lunar particles.
SLIM
The SLIM team assessed in the past the inclusion of a small
rover
Rover may refer to:
People
* Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian
* Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer
* Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist
Places
* Rover, Arkansas, US
* Rover, Missouri, US
...
in this mission. A preliminary concept considered a rover with two inflatable wheels that would enter—or drop into—the
lava tube
A lava tube, or pyroduct, is a natural conduit formed by flowing lava from a volcanic vent that moves beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow. If lava in the tube empties, it will leave a cave.
Formation
A lava tube is a type of lava ca ...
while deploying miniature communication relay devices along the traverse. Other concepts suggested developing a miniature
rover
Rover may refer to:
People
* Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian
* Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer
* Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist
Places
* Rover, Arkansas, US
* Rover, Missouri, US
...
without wheels but able to "hop" along.
Spacebit Mission Two
Spacebit Mission Two will be launched in 2022 on
Intuitive Machines
Intuitive Machines, LLC is a private American company headquartered in Houston, Texas. It was founded in 2013 by Stephen Altemus, Kam Ghaffarian, Tim Crain. Intuitive Machines is completing its lunar program which will provide lunar surface access ...
's
Nova-C
''Nova-C'' is a lunar lander designed by the private company Intuitive Machines to deliver small commercial payloads to the surface of the Moon.
Intuitive Machines was one of nine contractor companies selected by NASA in November 2018 to su ...
lander. It will consist of one wheeled rover and four Asagumo rovers.
Unnamed Canadian lunar rover
A rover developed by Canadensys Aerospace of
Bolton, Ont. for the
Canadian Space Agency is scheduled to be launched in 2026. The 30-kilogram rover will search the Moon's southern polar regions for signs of water ice. It will carry five scientific instruments designed in Canada and one NASA-designed instrument. The rover will carry out its mission in areas of the moon that have never been exposed before to direct sunlight. It will also survive lunar nights that can last as long as 14 days and drop to less than -200 Celsius (-328 Fahrenheit). Gordon Osinski, a planetary scientist at the
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...
, is the principal investigator lead on the project''.''
Unity
Unity is a rover made by
Team AngelicvM
Team AngelicvM is a private company based in Chile that plans to deploy a small rover on the Moon. Their rover, called ''Unity'', is one of various rovers that will be carried by the commercial ''Peregrine'' lander manufactured by Astrobotic Tech ...
in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. It was part of
GLXP until they decided to have no winner for
GLXP. It will be launched in 2022 on Astrobotic's Peregrine lander.
VIPER
NASA's
VIPER
The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...
(Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) will explore the south polar region of the Moon for water ice. The mission plan is to travel several miles over 100 days and employ a 1-meter drill to obtain samples for its onboard analyzers. The rover will be delivered to the lunar surface in November 2024.
Yaoki
Yaoki is a moon rover created by Dymon. It will be launched in 2022 on Astrobotic's Peregrine lander. Yaoki will be the first lunar rover to be made and operated in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
Proposed missions
ATHLETE
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
's plans for future Moon missions call for rovers that have a far longer range than the Apollo rovers. The
All-Terrain Hex-Legged Extra-Terrestrial Explorer
An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance.
Athletes may be professional sports, professionals or amateur sports, amateurs. Most professional a ...
(ATHLETE) is a six-legged robotic lunar rover test-bed under development by the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States.
Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA an ...
(JPL). ATHLETE is a testbed for systems and is designed for use on the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
.
The system is in development along with
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
's Johnson and Ames Centers,
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
and
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
.
ATHLETE is designed, for maximum efficiency, to be able to both roll and walk over a wide range of terrains.
Deep Space Systems
On 29 November 2018, Deep Space Systems was included in the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program by NASA, which makes it eligible to bid on delivering science and technology payloads to the Moon, worth $2.6 billion in contracts over 10 years. Deep Space Systems is now considered a "main contractor" for
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
's payload program, and can sub-contract projects to other companies of their choice. According to NASA, Deep Space Systems will be proposing a small commercial lunar rover, to carry science payloads, in addition of their design and development services to the program.
HERACLES
HERACLES
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...
is a
sample return mission
A sample-return mission is a spacecraft mission to collect and return samples from an extraterrestrial location to Earth for analysis. Sample-return missions may bring back merely atoms and molecules or a deposit of complex compounds such as lo ...
by the
European Space Agency
, owners =
, headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France
, coordinates =
, spaceport = Guiana Space Centre
, seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png
, seal_size = 130px
, image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...
,
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orb ...
, and
Canadian Space Agency. The rover is made by the Canadian Space Agency and is proposed to be launched in 2028.
Lunar Cruiser
Lunar Cruiser is a vehicle being developed by
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
with the
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orb ...
to explore the surface of the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
. The name is based on the
Toyota Land Cruiser
The (also sometimes spelled as LandCruiser) is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. It is Toyota's longest running series of models. , the sales of the Land Cruiser totalled more than ...
. The vehicle is scheduled to be used in the late 2020s. The vehicle would include a
robotic arm
A robotic arm is a type of mechanical arm, usually programmable, with similar functions to a human arm; the arm may be the sum total of the mechanism or may be part of a more complex robot. The links of such a manipulator are connected by joints ...
for various inspection and maintenance tasks which could be changed for scooping, lifting and sweeping.
Luna-Grunt rover
Luna-Grunt rover (or Luna-28) is a proposed Russian lunar rover.
Lunar Polar Exploration Mission rover
The
Lunar Polar Exploration Mission
The Lunar Polar Exploration mission (LUPEX), also known as Chandrayaan-4, is a robotic lunar mission concept by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) that would send a lunar rover and lander t ...
is a robotic lunar mission concept by
Indian Space Research Organisation
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman ...
and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency that would send a lunar rover and lander to explore the south pole region of the Moon in 2024. The Japanese agency is likely to provide the under-development H3 launch vehicle and the rover, while the Indian agency would be responsible for the lander.
Planetoid Mines
Planetoid Mines will launch xTRAC surface excavator in 2025. xTRAC will be deployed for lunar mining in South Pole and PSR craters.
''Scarab''
''
Scarab'' is a new generation lunar rover designed to assist astronauts, take rock and mineral samples, and explore the lunar surface.
It is being developed by the
Robotics Institute
The Robotics Institute (RI) is a division of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. A June 2014 article in ''Robotics Business Review'' magazine calls it "the world's best robo ...
of
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
, supported by
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
.
Space Exploration Vehicle
The SEV is a proposed successor to the original
Lunar Roving Vehicle
The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is a battery-powered four-wheeled rover used on the Moon in the last three missions of the American Apollo program ( 15, 16, and 17) during 1971 and 1972. It is popularly called the Moon buggy, a play on the t ...
from the
Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
missions. It combines a living module, as it has a pressurized cabin containing a small bathroom and space for 2 astronauts (4 in case of emergency), and a small truck.
Canceled
Lunokhod 3
Lunokhod 3 was built for a
Moon landing
A Moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. This includes both crewed and robotic missions. The first human-made object to touch the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2, on 13 September 1959.
The United St ...
in 1977 as
Luna 25
Luna 25 (Luna-Glob lander) is a planned lunar lander mission by Roscosmos. It will land near the lunar south pole at the Boguslavsky crater. It was renamed from Luna-Glob lander to Luna 25 to emphasize the continuity of the Soviet Luna program ...
but never flew to the Moon due to lack of launchers and funding. It remains at the
NPO Lavochkin
NPO Lavochkin (russian: НПО Лавочкина, OKB-301, also called Lavochkin Research and Production Association or shortly Lavochkin Association, LA) is a Russian aerospace company. It is a major player in the Russian space program, being th ...
museum
Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle 4, 5 and 6
They would have been for Apollo 18, 19 and 20.
Resource Prospector
Resource Prospector is a cancelled mission concept by NASA of a rover that would have performed a survey expedition on a polar region of the Moon. The rover was to attempt to detect and map the location of volatiles such as hydrogen, oxygen and lunar water which could foster more affordable and sustainable human exploration to the Moon, Mars, and other Solar System bodies
The mission concept was still in its pre-formulation stage when it was scrapped in April 2018. The Resource Prospector mission was proposed to be launched in 2022. Its science instruments will be flown on several commercial lander missions contracted with
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
's new
Commercial Lunar Payload Services
Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) is a NASA program to contract transportation services able to send small robotic landers and rovers to the Moon's south polar region mostly with the goals of scouting for lunar resources, testing in situ ...
program.
See also
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CubeRover, a class of modular lunar rovers
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Exploration of the Moon
The physical exploration of the Moon began when '' Luna 2'', a space probe launched by the Soviet Union, made an impact on the surface of the Moon on September 14, 1959. Prior to that the only available means of exploration had been observatio ...
* ''
Tank on the Moon
''Tank on the Moon'' is a French 2007 documentary film about the development, launch, and operation of the Soviet Union, Soviet Moon Lunar rover, exploration rovers, ''Lunokhod 1'' and ''Lunokhod 2'' in the period from 1970 to 1973. The film uses ...
'', 2007 documentary film
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List of rovers on extraterrestrial bodies
A rover is a planetary surface exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of a planet or other celestial body. Rovers are used to explore, collect information, and take samples of the surface. This is a list of all rovers on extraterre ...
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Mars rovers
A Mars rover is a motor vehicle designed to travel on the surface of Mars. Rovers have several advantages over stationary landers: they examine more territory, they can be directed to interesting features, they can place themselves in sunny pos ...
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Space rover
References
External links
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{{Moon spacecraft
Landers (spacecraft)
Missions to the Moon