General Motors’ Ultium technology will be used to motivate NASA’s planned Lunar Terrain Vehicle or LTV as part of the Artemis campaign to usher in next-generation exploration of the moon, according to an announcement by the agency.
GM, with its Ultium Drive motors and Ultium batteries, will be one of several companies contributing to the “human-rated Moon rover,” with Lockheed Martin, Goodyear, MDA Space, and Lunar Outpost all involved as well.
While the Ultium battery tech is GM’s main contribution to the project, the press release also notes the automaker’s “experience on Lunar Surface mobility goes back to their contributions to the wheels, motor, and suspension of NASA’s Lunar Roving Vehicle during the Apollo Program.”
The Lunar Terrain Vehicle is described as an “off-road” machine and has a stringent set of requirements unnecessary for ordinary, Earthly trails. These include autonomous navigation, a cargo bed equipped with a robotic arm to load or unload objects as needed, and the ability to operate reliably for long periods at -280 degrees Fahrenheit during nighttime on the moon.
Via Lunar Outpost Inc.
The planned collaboration was first announced back in 2021. At that time, NASA indicated it was looking to land astronauts at the moon’s south pole by the mid-2020s and needed an exceptionally tough vehicle for the harsh lunar environment. The Ultium battery and motor technology will need to be capable of driving the LTV over extensive areas of the moon, unlike the original rover that had a range of less than 5 miles.
Now, the contract to develop the LTV has actually been awarded. Lunar Outpost will spearhead the team, with four rovers already to its development credit, but each of the partner companies is expected to make significant contributions to the program’s overall success.
Kirk Shireman, vice president of lunar exploration at Lockheed Martin, summed up the science contributed by the various partners, including GM’s Ultium tech, as “unique technologies [that] will enable the future of critical infrastructure required for a sustainable presence in space where humans can live [and] work far from Earth.”
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Comments
Remember with pride that GM help develop the original lunar rover used in the Apollo program. Gene Cernan throwing those tall rooster tails on the Moon with the rover during the Apollo 17 landing in December of 1972 when I was 6 years old.
Let’s hope no software issue develops after landing on the moon!
In the movies, but who am I to say NASA can’t rocket lift a motorhome to the moon and drive it in -280*. In the movies….
President Skroob: Did it work? Where’s the king?
Dark Helmet: It worked, sir. We have the combination.
President Skroob: Great. Now we can take every last breath of fresh air from Planet Druidia. What’s the combination?
Colonel Sandurz: 1-2-3-4-5
President Skroob: 1-2-3-4-5?
Colonel Sandurz: Yes!
President Skroob: That’s amazing. I’ve got the same combination on my luggage.