GM, the manufacturer of the Hummer EV and Lockheed Martin, a defense and security company, presented their lunar rover (Lunar Mobility Vehicle), hoping that NASA would choose it for future manned lunar missions. A rover based on the Hummer EV.
In a few years, NASA’s Artemis mission plans to bring four astronauts back to the moon in 2027. To do this, the American space agency needs a new rover, the famous vehicle that will allow astronauts to move on the moon. It therefore launched a call for projects and the couple formed between the American manufacturer GM (to whom we owe the Hummer EV) and the American defense company Lockheed Martin (to whom we owe the F35 ) just revealed some details about their proposal.
A common base with the Hummer EV
The rover of the two American companies would naturally rest on a fairly well-known technical basis, sinceit’s the famous 100% electric Hummer EV. This one has quite extraordinary crossing capacities (as well as a particularly practical crab mode) and uses only electrical energy. GM announces in a press release that the work that allowed the design of the Hummer EV will be resumed for this rover, with in particular the aspect of performance, chassis, battery but also autonomous driving!
Indeed, despite the gargantuan consumption of the Hummer EV (which can in some cases pollute more than an electric car), it is a rather fascinating technological showcase. We also wonder if it has any real use on Earth. The engineers therefore took over its base and modified it, via a simulator, to succeed in keeping its wheels on the lunar ground so that it does not fly off into space.
Batteries must be strong
On the battery side, if this rover is selected, it will carry the GM Ultium electric platform which is currently only integrated on the Hummer EV. As a reminder, this is a technology that was presented in 2020 with an energy capacity of between 50 and 200 kWh, very high performance and very fast charging thanks to its 800 volt architecture. However, they will have to be protected from bad weather, with in particular a temperature that can vary by 260 degrees Celsius between day and night on the Moon! If they are not solid batteries, they will have to be resistant!
Autonomous driving on the program
The autonomous driving part – which is in the hands of GM’s Cruise division – is also very important. It will be much more difficult to implement than on Earth, since engineers will not be able to try it for thousands of kilometers in real situations. Without taking into account that the surface of the Moon is much less smooth than a paved road. The rover will allow two astronauts to explore the Moon.
In a recent interview with the media Automotive NewsBrent Deep, program manager at GM, specifies that the old rover of 1971 – created at the time by GM and Boeing – was also taken as a base since it had successfully completed its mission. The new rover must be able to be used for 10 years on the surface of the Moon. On the subject of autonomous driving, the man however recalled that the absence of a road would facilitate the task, but that the most complex would be to have to recreate the surface of the Moon on a virtual map.
GM and Lockheed Martin are of course not alone on this call for projects. We can also mention the car manufacturer Nissan, which has entered into a partnership with the American company Sierra Space. So we just have to wait for NASA’s choice.
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