NASA has selected the company to lead the mission that will carry Australia’s first lunar rover to the Moon.
Intuitive Machines will land Roo-ver on the Moon’s South Pole region in 2030 on the CT-4 mission, which is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
Along with the Aussie-made rover, the CT-4 mission will carry a suite of other scientific instruments to improve our understanding of the lunar environment.
Supporting lunar science and exploration goals
NASA has assigned Roo-ver with key research objectives, including collecting new data about the surface of the Moon to support international space science and exploration goals.
The Aussie rover will be supercharged with an integrated NASA payload – an analysis instrument intended to demonstrate technology for scientific and exploration purposes.
Over time, Roo-ver’s explorations will help global efforts to establish possible sustainable human presence in space.
“NASA continues to progress lunar science and exploration by enabling commercial lunar landings.
“These science and technology investigations aim to support long-term sustainability and contribute to a deeper understanding of the lunar surface, test technologies, and prepare for future human missions at the South Pole.”
~ Joel Kearns, Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration, Science Mission Directorate, at NASA Headquarters in Washington, US.
ELO2 is the industry consortium designing and developing Roo-ver for its mission to the Moon. The consortium was awarded around $42 million to build Roo-ver as part of the Australian Space Agency’s Moon to Mars Initiative.
Meet Roo-ver
The Australian-made rover that will go to the Moon with NASA.
Main image caption: A rendering of the Intuitive Machines larger cargo class (Nova-D) lunar lander that will take Roo-ver to Moon.
Credit: Intuitive Machines
