NASA Plans Human Lunar Rover
In a talk at the SpaceCom Expo, Tom Cremins, the Associate Administrator for Strategy and Plans at NASA stated that NASA would be releasing a request for information (RFI) to industry for development of a crew capable lunar rover, to be developed in a public-private partnership. The request would likely come in late December or early January, and would include a request for capabilities such that the rover could both be driven directly by astronauts on the lunar surface, or directed remotely from the Lunar Gateway.
This announcement comes after the upcoming Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) uncrewed robotic rover. Ben Bussey, a NASA senior exploration scientist, recently stated that agency plans now include development of a new robotic lunar rover about every two years after VIPER lands in 2022.
Lastly, review is still quietly ongoing for the many proposals received for the Human Landing Systems program.
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