If you are tired of earth-bound pickup trucks, don’t worry! Here we have the exclusive world debut of the first-ever #SpaceTruck ! This is a prototype that is being built by Lunar Outpost. It is in competition to be the space truck lunar rover that will go to the Moon by the end of this decade.
It is a part of the Lunar Terrain Vehicle program by NASA. It is also part of the NASA Artemis campaign.
Lunar Outpost is working with GM Defense, Goodyear, Leidos, MDA, and others to bring this lunar rover to life. GM Defense is providing vehicle dynamics expertise and parts of their Ultium battery-electric powertrain to make this rover go.
The idea is to have this rover use four electric motors (one for each wheel) in order to have redundancy and traction on loose and sandy Moon surface. It is a battery-powered vehicle that can be charged via solar panels or by plugging into an external electric source. This rover is meant to carry two astronauts and a total payload of around 2,400 kg or 5,000 lbs.
It’s equipped with a robotic arm, a winch, and a tow hitch. Indeed, this the first #SpaceTruck prototype. Please join me in the video below for a hands-on look.
