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Moon Racer
HOUSTON—Intuitive Machines (IM) has lifted the curtain on its NASA-funded Moon Racer Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV), a hefty, pickup- truck-sized vehicle to support establishing a sustainable presence at the Moon under the space agency’s Artemis program.
The company provided a static version of the two-person vehicle to NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) here in September, where it has been undergoing evaluation by the agent’s astronaut corps.
Later this month, an electrically powered version will be transported to Arizona for several days of field demonstrations and assessment in a lunar-like setting near Meteor Crater National Park. If Moon Racer prevails over two other commercial competitors also selected by NASA for development, it is estimated the rover could join Artemis crews on the lunar south pole no earlier than 2028.
“Today, we are unveiling the drivable mockup,” Trent Martin, Houston-based IM’s space senior vice president for space systems, told those gathered in the parking lot of Space Center Houston, JSC’s visitor center. IM has made Moon Racer available for public viewing through Nov. 8 at the visitors’ center as part of its National STEM Day observance. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
“IM is tasked with not only building an LTV, but delivering it to the surface of the Moon,” Martin told the gathering. “So we built a lander that we call the Nova-D. We put the LTV on that lander. We launch it to the Moon, and then we operate it on the surface of the Moon for 10 years. We operate it when astronauts are driving it. But when they are not there, we will continue to operate the vehicle from here in Houston, from Australia, from the platforms that are on the Moon,” he elaborated, the latter being references a to lunar surface base camp and a NASA-led lunar-orbiting Gateway space station.
In April NASA announced the selection of IM, Lunar Outpost and Venturi Astrolab to advance LTV development under a services agreement. As a prime contractor, IM announced its initial share of the agreement as $30 million.
The winning provider would maintain ownership of its lunar rovers, providing access to NASA under firm-fixed-price task orders estimated at a maximum combined potential value of $4.6 billion for all awards.
Moon Racer is also being developed for autonomous lunar operations, which could be implemented on behalf of NASA and commercial customers when NASA does not require access.
In February, IM achieved the first private sector soft landing at the Moon with NASA and commercial payloads using its Nova-C lander at the lunar south pole as one of 14 NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) mission providers. The more capable Nova-D lander, which could make its CLPS lunar debut in 2025, will be required for the Moon Racer and its trailer.
The Moon Racer itself weighs about 1.5 metric tons (3,300 lb.) and together with the Nova-D on the launchpad would check in at about 8 metric tons.
Without its trailer, Moon Racer is about 4.34 m (14.2 ft.) long, 12.8 ft. wide and 8.5 ft. tall.
“Why have a trailer? If you are doing work out on your farm, you have a tractor and you have lots of different trailer implements that you use to get your equipment and operate your farm,” Martin said. “The same will go for a facility that we put on the Moon. You want to put up a power tower, have a communications tower. You want to have a new science instrument that you put down into a crater. That is what the trailer allows you to do.”
Moon Racer will also be equipped with a robot arm for autonomous and manual commanding.
Moon Racer is equipped with a hand controller between the two seats that either astronaut can operate. The LTV has a top speed of 15 km per hour (9.3 mph) and is capable of climbing or descending slopes of 20 deg. and driving over obstacles up to 30 cm (12 in.).
On Sept. 17, NASA selected IM as the lunar relay contractor for the agency’s Near Space Network, which the company will use to command and communicate with the lunar rover and its astronauts. Under the contract, which has a five-year base period plus an optional five-year extension period and a maximum potential value of $4.82 billion, IM will place five relay satellites in lunar orbit and provide communications and navigation support as well as 24/7 ground station link support.
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