NASA plans a permanent human presence on the Moon and will deploy a new Lunar Terrain Vehicle, following the Apollo-era Lunar Roving Vehicle designed by General Motors and built by Boeing.
The Lunar Roving Vehicle served on Apollo 15, 16 and 17, covering a combined 56.2 miles, and was engineered to fold into the Lunar Module with a moonside weight of 462 pounds.
The rovers used four Delco 0.25-hp wheel motors with two 36-volt silver‑zinc batteries for about 57 miles of range and ran on woven metal tires of zinc‑coated piano wire with titanium chevrons. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has photographed LRV tracks, footpaths and descent stages, and NASA lunar geologist Noah Petro said in 2011 that the images let researchers retrace the astronauts' steps.
Four Lunar Rover Vehicles were built, three remain on the Moon and the fourth is displayed at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex near where Artemis' Lunar Terrain Vehicle will be prepared.
Read the full article at jalopnik.com.
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