Latest news with #lunarrover
Sky News
16 hours ago
- Business
- Sky News
Europe's first rover to land on moon - and it's carrying a tiny red house
The first lunar rover made in Europe is set to land on the moon tonight, carrying a tiny red house and a scoop. The rover, called Tenacious, is just 31.5cm wide and 54cm long and weighs 5kg - around the size and weight of an empty carry-on suitcase. It is one of the smallest and lightest rovers in the world and is operated by ispace EUROPE from Luxembourg. "It's a big deal," said ispace EUROPE's chief executive Dr Julien Lamamy to Sky News. "We've designed this rover, built it, tested a lot of it, and we're going to operate it all from Luxembourg." "We're showing that in Europe, [...] space companies have a startup mindset that can contribute a lot to the achievements of the European space." Tenacious will also be the first private rover to operate on the moon's surface, and will drive for around ten days before it "gets too cold and too dark", according to Dr Lamamy. The rover, which blasted off from Earth on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in January, is arriving on the moon with some fairly unusual cargo. A tiny red house, designed by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg, will be placed on the lunar surface and photographed to represent "an artistic and epic story of new possibilities", according to ispace. Mr Genbeg has been trying to get his art to the moon for 25 years, said Dr Lamamy, "but 25 years ago, only space agencies were going to the Moon". "To me, that reflects what we're here for," he said. "Of course, we're here to contribute to science and exploration and knowledge about the moon, but we're also here to give access to other folks that have cool projects." There's also a scoop on board to collect moon dust, which will be sold to NASA for $5,000 (£3,685) - the first ever sale of off-planet resources. The rover is being carried in a lander spacecraft called Resilience, which launched in January on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and entered lunar orbit on 6 May. Also aboard the lander is a water electrolyser, a module containing food production experiments, a deep space radiation probe and a commemorative plate. It is due to land on the Mare Frigoris region of the near side of the Moon at 7.17pm BST. This will be ispace's second attempt to land on the moon, after it tried in 2023, only to lose connection with its lander in the final stages of the mission. After spending 100 days in space and decelerating from 6,000 kilometres per hour to a walking pace a few metres above the moon's surface, the signal from the lander was lost. "We have to assume that we could not complete the landing on the lunar surface," said Takeshi Hakamada, CEO of ispace, at the time. Dr Lamamy said those issues have been rectified - for his team, now what remains is to experience "one of the biggest moments of our lives".
Geek Wire
23-05-2025
- Science
- Geek Wire
Astrobotic clears wireless charging system for moon missions with help from WiBotic
A CubeRover with a wireless charging node drives up to a second power node to charge. (Astrobotic Photo) Astrobotic says it has completed flight model acceptance testing for a wireless charging system that incorporates technology from Seattle-based WiBotic — and that could help rovers roam across the surface of the moon. The system is designed to provide reliable, high-efficiency power transfer amid the extreme conditions of the lunar surface, including a night that lasts 14 Earth days. It was developed by Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic and WiBotic with assistance from the University of Washington, Bosch and NASA's Glenn Research Center. 'This is the foundation for a unified, interoperable power standard for the moon and Mars,' Astrobotic CEO John Thornton said in a news release. 'We're offering a wireless charging solution that can support cross-agency, cross-industry missions, built to survive the harshest planetary environments. If your assets need dependable power on the surface, this is the plug they'll need.' WiBotic's co-founder and CEO, Ben Waters, said the system's successful qualification is a 'major step forward.' 'For the first time, there's an off-the-shelf, space-qualified wireless charging solution available for lunar and orbital missions,' Waters said in a LinkedIn post. 'Instead of spending years developing a custom charger for each robot, tool or power system, companies can now integrate a proven solution that works across battery types, voltages and devices — no physical connectors required.' An artist's conception shows a lunar rover and a row of charging stations. (WiBotic Illustration) The wireless system is designed to deliver power from an Astrobotic lunar lander or from a Vertical Solar Array Technology platform, also known as VSAT. Power from the source would be converted to wireless power by a WiBotic transmitter circuit, and then sent to the device by a transmitter antenna coil. Such a system would be well-suited for lunar operations — where devices would otherwise have to be repeatedly connected and disconnected, subjecting them to wear and tear from abrasive moon dust. The acceptance testing process for the wireless charger flight model was conducted over the course of four months at Astrobotic's Pittsburgh headquarters and at Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. The model was tested to check for electromagnetic interference and for the ability to cope with the vibrations that would be experienced during launch. The system also was subjected to vacuum conditions and the cold, dirty environment that would be encountered on the lunar surface. Development of the system was supported by a NASA Tipping Point contract. A 125-watt wireless charger model is now commercially available for advanced power solutions in space applications, and a 400-watt model is undergoing further testing.
Gizmodo
09-05-2025
- Science
- Gizmodo
NASA Has a Badass Moon Rover but No Way to Get It to the Moon
NASA's VIPER is designed to search for water ice around the Moon's south pole. But instead of exploring the lunar terrain, the fully assembled four-wheeled robot is in storage at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. After canceling its VIPER mission last year, NASA is still searching for alternatives to launch its lunar rover, and the agency just took another step backward in making it happen. NASA canceled a solicitation for partnership proposals it had sent out earlier this year, calling on the private sector to take over its VIPER mission. This week, the agency announced it would explore alternative options to deliver its lunar rover to the Moon. 'We appreciate the efforts of those who proposed to the Lunar Volatiles Science Partnership Announcement for Partnership Proposals call,' Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement. 'We look forward to accomplishing future volatiles science with VIPER as we continue NASA's Moon to Mars exploration efforts.' VIPER, or Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, was originally scheduled to launch in 2023. The launch date was first pushed back to 2024 and later to 2025 due to additional schedule and supply chain delays. In July 2024, the space agency decided to cancel the mission altogether, stating that it threatens to disrupt other commercial payload missions to the Moon. At first, NASA's plan was to disassemble the VIPER rover and use its parts for future missions. The decision, however, sparked outrage from the science community over the loss of the lunar explorer. In response, NASA abruptly put together a call for the private sector to take over its robot and send it to the Moon. Space startups, such as Intuitive Machines, stepped up to put together a plan to respond to NASA's request for information. It's unclear why NASA has reversed earlier decision to pursue a private partnership to send VIPER to the Moon. NASA has already spent $450 million developing its VIPER mission, and the agency declared that it wouldn't spend any more money on getting the rover to land on the lunar surface. Without the help of the private sector, NASA's alternatives for VIPER, at no additional cost from its own pocket, seem rather limited. 'The agency will announce a new strategy for VIPER in the future,' NASA wrote in its statement.
