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A lunar rover or Moon rover is a space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of the Moon. Some rovers have been designed to transport members of a human spaceflight crew, such as the Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle; others have been partially or fully autonomous robots, such as Lunokhod 1.

Examples

Lunokhod 1

Lunokhod 1 was the first of two unmanned lunar rovers landed on the Moon by the Soviet Union as part of its Lunokhod program. The spacecraft which carried Lunokhod 1 was named Luna 17. Lunokhod was the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on another celestial body.

Lunokhod 1 held the durability record for space rovers for more than 30 years, until a new record was set by the Mars Exploration Rovers.

Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle

The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) was a battery-powered four-wheeled rover used on the Moon during the last three missions of the American Apollo program (15, 16, and 17) during 1971 and 1972. It was popularly known as the moon buggy, a play on the phrase "dune buggy".

The LRV could carry one or two astronauts, their equipment, and lunar samples.

Proposed lunar rover missions

Chang'e 3

Chang'e 3 is a Chinese lunar rover scheduled for launch in 2013. It will be China's first lunar rover, part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program undertaken by China National Space Administration (CNSA).

Chandrayaan-II

The Chandrayaan II mission is a joint venture between India and Russia, consisting of a lunar orbiter and a lunar lander. An opportunity was given to students to design this rover. 150 students gave their designs but only 6 were selected. They gave a demonstration in NRSA and are going to ISRO. The Russian designed rover weighs 50 kg, will have six wheels and will be running on solar power. It will land near one of the poles and will operate for a year, roving up to 150 km at a maximum speed of 360 m/h.

ATHLETE

NASA's plans for future moon missions call for rovers that have a far longer range than the Apollo rovers.

The All-Terrain Hex-Legged Extra-Terrestrial Explorer (ATHLETE) is a six-legged robotic lunar rover test-bed under development by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). ATHLETE is a testbed for systems and is designed for use on the Moon.

The system is in development along with NASA's Johnson and Ames Centers, Stanford University and Boeing.

ATHLETE is designed, for maximum efficiency, to be able to both roll and walk over a wide range of terrains.

Scarab

Scarab is a new generation lunar rover designed to assist astronauts take rock and mineral samples and explore the lunar surface. It is being developed by the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, supported by NASA.

Space Exploration Vehicle

The SEV is a proposed successor to the original Lunar Roving Vehicle from the Apollo missions. It combines a living module, as it has an pressurized cabin containing a small bathroom and space for 2 astronauts (4 in case of emergency), and a small truck.

See also

• Rover (space exploration)
• Exploration of the Moon
• Robotic exploration of the Moon

References

1. NASA's Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV)
2. ^ "The ATHLETE Rover". JPL. 2010-02-25.
3. "The ATHLETE Rover". NASA. 2010-02-25.
4. "NASA Day on the Hill". NASA.
5. "Snakes, Rovers and Googly Eyes: New Robot Masters Take Many Forms". Wired. 4/4/2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

• Lunar rover
• Off-road vehicles
• Spacecraft
• Planetary rovers