Real world Driving on the Moon
On the last three Apollo missions, in 1971 and 1972, astronauts drove a folding electric car called the Lunar Roving Vehicle. It let them travel kilometers from the lander and collect far more samples. Its wire-mesh wheels coped with soft dust, and its fenders were essential: when one broke, the astronauts were showered with dust.
NASA's Artemis program plans a new Lunar Terrain Vehicle that astronauts can drive, and that can also be driven remotely when no crew is present.
Possible future How the track would work
Before driving out into rough country, crews would test rovers on a track with slopes, rocks, soft sand and craters. They would practice steering in low gravity, where vehicles bounce and skid more easily, and rehearse emergencies such as a breakdown far from base.
Possible future Pressurized rovers
For long trips, future rovers would be pressurized, like small mobile homes, so astronauts could drive in normal clothes and only suit up to go outside. Some designs include suitports on the back.
Art In this artwork
This illustration shows an oval track inside a high-tech arena with vehicles on it. Here we imagine it as a rover test track.
Look closer
- Find the vehicles on the track.
- Where might spectators or trainers watch?
Think about it
- How would you design wheels for soft, sharp dust?
- Why would a rover need to be able to drive itself?
- What should every rover carry in case of emergency?
Key words
- Rover
- A vehicle for driving on another world.
- Pressurized
- Holding air at a pressure people can breathe.
- Traction
- Grip between wheels and ground.
Sources
The real-world facts on this page are based on these sources:
- NASA, Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle and the Artemis Lunar Terrain Vehicle
- NASA, studies of lunar dust from the Apollo missions
