![]() ![]() The mission was meant to gather data about the rover’s design, cabin configuration, driving modes, timeline constraints, and mission operations to support potential design concepts for future pressurized rovers. “The Arizona desert possesses many characteristics that are analogous to a lunar environment, including challenging terrain, interesting geology, and minimal communications infrastructure,” NASA says, “all of which astronauts will experience near the lunar South Pole during Artemis missions.”įrom October 11 to 22, three crews of two-two astronauts and a JAXA expert from Japan and two astronauts and an engineer from NASA-rotated through living and operating out of the pressurized rover for three-day stints, including conducting simulated moonwalks. The researchers focused on “conducting pressurized rover operations,” a key element of future Artemis missions. The testing was led by NASA’s Desert Research and Technology Studies (Desert RATS) program, which tests technology at the Black Point Lava Flow near SP Crater. NASA teamed up with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to test a prototype design for a pressurized lunar rover in the Northern Arizona desert in October, all part of a plan to have the rover ready for Artemis VII in 2030. The Artemis mission is aiming to put astronauts back on the moon, but first, they’ll need a rover to camp around in. The new rover design must last 10 years and be self-sustaining for astronauts.The pressurized lunar rover is planned for the 2030 Artemis VII mission.The Northern Arizona desert is currently the testing ground for new Artemis-mission technology, including a pressurized lunar rover. ![]()
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