Venturi Astrolab’s FLEX, Intuitive Machines’ Moon RACER, and Lunar Outpost’s Eagle Lunar Terrain Vehicle — three commercially owned and developed LTVs (Lunar Terrain Vehicles) — are shown in this Nov. 21, 2024 photo at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. has gone
As part of a year-long feasibility study, each company delivered a static mockup of its vehicle to Johnson in late September, began rover testing in October and the first tests inside the Active Response Gravity Offload system. Completed the round in December. ARGOS) test facility. The Moon’s surface gravity is only one-sixth of what we experience here on Earth, so to simulate it, ARGOS offers an analog environment that features pressure-suited subjects for various low-gravity simulations. can load
See how these LTVs were evaluated.
Image credit: NASA/Bill Stafford