NASA's use of rover prototype on Earth will pave way for Artemis V lunar surface travel

Oct. 2 (UPI) -- When astronauts eventually traverse the moon's surface as part of the planned Artemis lunar missions, they'll have a prototype to thank.

NASA engineers at the Johnson Space Center are designing a new lunar rover prototype called the Ground Test Unit. The space agency said Wednesday it plans to have the vehicle available for the Artemis V moon mission.

"The Ground Test Unit will help NASA teams on the ground test and understand all aspects of rover operations on the lunar surface ahead of Artemis missions," lead engineer Jeff Somers said in a statement. "The GTU allows NASA to be a smart buyer, so we are able to test and evaluate rover operations while we work with the LTVS contractors and their hardware."

The GTU will be a human-rated unpressurized vehicle using a flexible architecture to simulate and evaluate different rover concepts.

NASA contracted with three vendors to develop the GTU in April 2024. Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost and Venturi Astrolab will develop the rover.

The three company's rover designs will continue evolving as they establish test data on various technical aspects, such as crew compartment design, rover maintenance and payload science integration.

It will never be used on the moon.

The rover will be designed to carry two astronauts, will include a remote operation ability and will include drive modes, self-leveling, and supervised autonomy technologies.

NASA said human mobility "helps increase the exploration footprint on the lunar surface, allowing each mission to conduct more research and increase the value to the scientific community."

Astronauts in Artemis V moon mission will include the first woman, first person of color and NASA's first international partner to explore the moon.

NASA said having the prototype of the vehicle intended to operate on the moon here on Earth allows engineer teams to test capabilities while also "getting hands-on engineering experience developing rover hardware."

"Crewed test vehicles here on Earth like the GTU help NASA learn new ways that astronauts can live and work safely and productively on the moon, and one day on the surface of Mars," NASA said in a statement.