{"id":30113,"date":"2025-10-05T04:22:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T04:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/?p=30113"},"modified":"2025-11-03T10:13:41","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T10:13:41","slug":"nasas-candidate-lunar-exploration-vehicle-will-use-general-motors-technologies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/nasas-candidate-lunar-exploration-vehicle-will-use-general-motors-technologies\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA’s Candidate Lunar Exploration Vehicle Will Use General Motors’ Technologies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NASA<\/strong>‘s Artemis<\/strong> project involves three different consortiums developing vehicles for surface travel on the Moon<\/strong>. One of these will use technologies from automotive giant General Motors<\/strong>. Here are the vehicle’s features…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preparations for NASA’s Artemis program give us an opportunity to compare 1970s technology with where we are 50 years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Manned Lunar Vehicle to be Developed under the Artemis Project<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Artemis, named after the ancient Greek goddess of the Moon, is a multi-stage project aiming to support manned exploration missions<\/strong> to the Moon’s south pole and build a space station<\/strong> in lunar orbit. For Artemis V, its fifth phase planned for 2030 or later, an unpressurized terrain vehicle<\/strong> will be developed that astronauts can travel in while wearing appropriate suits on the lunar surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This vehicle will be the modern-day version of the Lunar Roving Vehicle<\/strong>, first used during the Apollo 15 mission in 1971. Three different consortiums are competing to develop this vehicle, named the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV)<\/strong>. One of them, Lunar Outpost<\/strong>, is collaborating with the automotive giant General Motors (GM)<\/strong> for battery<\/strong>, chassis<\/strong>, and autonomous driving technologies<\/strong>. GM recently announced how it plans to meet NASA’s battery requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original Lunar Rover had two 36-volt silver-zinc potassium hydroxide non-rechargeable batteries. Although impressive technology for its time, the inability to recharge the batteries and high-temperature sensitivity limited the vehicle’s range<\/strong> to 97 km<\/strong>. Astronauts on the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 missions had to share this range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Will Travel at Least 30,000 km Over 10 Years<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The new LTV<\/strong> will be much more advanced. The rechargeable battery pack<\/strong> will be usable for 10 years<\/strong> and, along with solar panels<\/strong>, will allow the vehicle to cover a total of at least 30,000 km<\/strong>. The vehicle’s maximum speed is aimed to reach 25 km\/h<\/strong>, but due to low gravity and low traction, it will generally travel at speeds below 14.5 km\/h<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The extreme conditions on the Moon will severely challenge the battery<\/strong>. Lunar day and night last about two weeks each. Temperatures can drop to \u2212173 \u2218C<\/strong> at night and remain at this level for days. Since it will be impossible to draw energy from the sun during this period, the battery must have advanced insulation<\/strong> and a self-heating feature<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of developing an entirely new battery technology, GM is adapting its latest design used in road vehicles. It was announced that the LTV will run on lithium-ion batteries<\/strong> with a high nickel content NCMA<\/strong> (nickel-cobalt-manganese-aluminum oxide) chemistry, which are used in GM\u2019s current electric vehicles (e.g., GMC Hummer EV<\/strong>, Chevrolet Equinox EV<\/strong>). The batteries will be integrated into the chassis<\/strong> to optimize<\/strong> the vehicle\u2019s center of gravity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To increase durability, the batteries will be fault-tolerant<\/strong>, meaning they will continue to operate even if some cells fail. Additionally, heating elements<\/strong> and powerful insulation<\/strong> will be added. GM will use laser welding technology<\/strong> and flash thermography scanning<\/strong> to detect welding defects for flawless quality in battery production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Capable of Crab Walk and Zero-Point Turn<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The LTV also utilizes GMC\u2019s off-road driving technologies<\/strong> for better movement on the Moon\u2019s challenging terrain. Thanks to four independent electric motors<\/strong>, the vehicle will be even more agile<\/strong> than the electric Hummer. Furthermore, with the Hummer\u2019s crab walk<\/strong> feature, additional motors, and independent wheel steering, it will also be capable of a zero-point turn<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although designed for easy access by astronauts in spacesuits<\/strong>, the vehicle will mostly be used with autonomous driving<\/strong> or steered from Earth<\/strong>. Various sensors, such as LiDAR<\/strong>, radar<\/strong>, and high-resolution cameras<\/strong>, will be used for this purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to NASA’s LTV project, a Pressurized Rover<\/strong> is also on the agenda for the future. This vehicle will allow astronauts to take longer journeys. NASA plans to allocate an additional $7 billion<\/strong> for Moon and Mars research in its budget proposal for next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NASA<\/a><\/em><\/strong> is expected to select the official LTV provider<\/strong> from the three candidate designs this year. Artemis V<\/strong> will be the third manned lunar mission of the Artemis series and will provide astronauts with a vehicle for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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