By 
May 27th, 2021
Credit: Lockheed Martin/GM
A next generation of lunar rovers is being blueprinted, with Lockheed Martin and General Motors (GM) teaming up to extend the exploration range of astronauts performing science tasks on the Moon.
According to a May 26 announcement by the two organizations, not only will these vehicles be equipped to go the distance, they will also be driver optional.
Moon-style, autonomous, self-driving systems would enable the vehicle to operate with or without humans onboard.
A Lockheed Martin-GM rover would be able to preposition itself autonomously near a landing site prior to astronauts arrival, and crews would have the ability to task the rover from the Human Landing System or the orbiting lunar Gateway to conduct science operations without a driver.
Credit: Lockheed Martin/GM/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Chauffeuring astronauts
GM brings to the table state-of-the-art battery-electric technologies and propulsion systems for the lunar rover. Lockheed Martin sees the Moon vehicle as affordable, given digital tools to rapidly fabricate the transportation system.
The Lockheed Martin-GM team envisions autonomously chauffeuring astronauts to the dark regions of the Moon.
Credit: NASA
Other scientific activities that surface mobility can enable include: field geology, sample collection and return, and deploying experiments.
Go to these videos that detail the Lockheed Martin-GM announcement at:
Posted in Space News
I am one of the actual designers of the old Lunar Rovers, having worked for GM, at the Goleta facilities. This is the best annoucement ever. We GM work with a major aerospace comp-any again, for the same purposes. These new vehicles will boggle your mind, have greater capabilities, remote control, kids-programs available for schools, and much more.