I'm reminded of Russia's Venera pictures from Venus, but perhaps the Russian Luna 9 picture is better; the first picture from the surface of the Moon.
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Moon Landers (Non-SpaceX) - General Discussion
- Thread starter ecarfan
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The Chandrayaan-3 rover has rolled down its ramp and is on the lunar surface.
We don't know. We have spectrometer and radar data that is consistent with water signatures, but interpreting the data is difficult. Some say that there could be a layer on the surface, a layer buried, or chunks of ice scattered through the regolith. The instruments can't see very far into the surface, so everything that has been detected would be pretty accessible.
Video of the Chandraan-3 rover rolling down the ramp onto the lunar surface. Pretty cool!
That is an impressive photo worth the whole mission.
Still no signs of water ice it appears. And they have only a few more days before it goes into darkness, and the instruments are not expected to survive the Lunar polar night. But they have published results on a few other tests on temperature gradient beneath the soil, and mineral composition of the soil.
Still no signs of water ice it appears. And they have only a few more days before it goes into darkness, and the instruments are not expected to survive the Lunar polar night. But they have published results on a few other tests on temperature gradient beneath the soil, and mineral composition of the soil.
I would have thought that hovering a bit would have been an effective way to search for water ice.
India's Chandrayaan-3 moon rover reveals surprising sulfur find in lunar south pole soil
Scientists have spotted an intriguing element near the moon's south pole.
www.space.com
They're searching for Hydrogen now.
I assume that's a result of having no atmosphere to trap the heat and soak the soil. The energy heats the top of the soil and radiates away quickly. Something like an inside-out dewar flask. That's a good sign for retaining subsurface ice.
A New York Times article (paywalled) about NASA selecting three companies to provide proposals for lunar rovers. The price tag is staggering, and the capabilities minimal (apart from 10 years operating lifetime), but one neat feature is that the rover is supposed to be able to drive to the site of the next landing so those astronauts can use it.
I don't have access, but slashdot provided the following quote
You'd think Tesla would be all ready for something like this.
The whole "build one and have it run for 10 years" thing is straight out of the "every flight must be perfect" playbook. Send up multiple cheaper rovers and expect them to break every so often. Make allowances for replacement parts as needed, then refine and improve the vehicle through the years.
I don't have access, but slashdot provided the following quote
You'd think Tesla would be all ready for something like this.
The whole "build one and have it run for 10 years" thing is straight out of the "every flight must be perfect" playbook. Send up multiple cheaper rovers and expect them to break every so often. Make allowances for replacement parts as needed, then refine and improve the vehicle through the years.
For a non-pay-walled version, Berger did a piece on it for Ars too:
arstechnica.com
How will astronauts cruise around the Moon? NASA narrows choice to three options
"I know we’re asking a lot of these companies."
arstechnica.com
Here's a teaser for the folks who just look at the picturesFor a non-pay-walled version, Berger did a piece on it for Ars too:
How will astronauts cruise around the Moon? NASA narrows choice to three options
"I know we’re asking a lot of these companies."
Left to right, Lunar Dawn by Lunar Outpost, Moon Racer by Intuitive Machines, and FLEX by Astrolab.
And a short NASA fluff piece about lunar rovers in general.
Is it me, or do all these Moon rovers look stupid. The worst being the IM, Boeing, NG "Moon Racer." The Astrolab one looks the best of the bunch. Strangely, the ones in the video look better than the more official three options.
I do like the idea of a vehicle that can work autonomously as well as transporting astronauts. That is a smart strategy.
They really need some smart engineers like SpaceX and Tesla have to do this thing correctly.
I do like the idea of a vehicle that can work autonomously as well as transporting astronauts. That is a smart strategy.
They really need some smart engineers like SpaceX and Tesla have to do this thing correctly.
I put this in the same category as what has happened to modern pickup trucks. The designers went from goofy, friendly and effective vehicles to these angsty, aggressive monsters. I assume that's the energy that the first two are channeling. I think the third looks goofy, but in a bad way. It looks cheap and fragile. For crying out loud, let's get a Toyota Hilux on the Moon and be done with all this.
More seriously, I'd prefer some of the concepts that involve a pressurized cabin with a docking adapter plus suits attached to the outside (the "Suitport"). The idea is to increase the comfort level of the crew, and keep dust and crap out of the habitat, whether vehicles or surface modules.
NASA (the Suitports are under the retractable cover on the right):
JAXA (Toyota):
The video states that Astrolab has “already signed an agreement with SpaceX” to take their Flex vehicle to the Moon in 2026.
I don’t think anyone seriously believes that Artemis III will happen by the end of 2026.
But I did not know that mission is planned to have a lunar rover onboard and deploy it to the lunar surface.
The Flex rover does look interesting. The Intuitive Machines “Moon Racer” looks ridiculous, like it is designed for high speed in an environment with roads and an atmosphere; it looks almost aerodynamic. The Venturi Astrolab vehicle looks like the astronauts will have to climb a ladder to get to their seats! The Lunar Outpost design seems to have been inspired by the Cybertruck.
I don’t think anyone seriously believes that Artemis III will happen by the end of 2026.
But I did not know that mission is planned to have a lunar rover onboard and deploy it to the lunar surface.
The Flex rover does look interesting. The Intuitive Machines “Moon Racer” looks ridiculous, like it is designed for high speed in an environment with roads and an atmosphere; it looks almost aerodynamic. The Venturi Astrolab vehicle looks like the astronauts will have to climb a ladder to get to their seats! The Lunar Outpost design seems to have been inspired by the Cybertruck.
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More on rovers. This time, Japan is tackling the problem of a pressurized rover for the Moon. Target delivery is 2031.
arstechnica.com
In exchange for a lunar rover, Japan will get seats on Moon-landing missions
Japan is making a significant commitment to the US-led Artemis program.
arstechnica.com
They also mention it folding up, which kind of seems important for actually getting it aboard a moon lander.
That pressurized JAXA "Moon Cruiser" one in your later post sounds awfully large... I wonder what transport volume will be like...
I assume that they both arrive via Starship. The smaller one is probably compatible with the HLS elevator.
The Moon Cruiser is clearly going to need a different way out of a Starship. I was watching a futurist video about building a Moon colony, and the author had Starships landing on their side so that vehicles could roll out the nose. It would be a challenge, given the difficulty of having thrusters along the side of the Starship blasting the surface dust.
I hope SpaceX soon gets on the task of building dedicated spacecraft instead of trying to have their orbital launchers pull double duty. A much more basic vehicle would be appropriate for Moon operations. It certainly won't need Raptor engines or the structure of an armored vehicle. I wonder if the sky crane technique used on Mars could be scaled up. Create a frame with propulsion that wraps around a standard cargo volume. Not necessarily with standard cargo containers so much as just standard mount points. The frame descends within a certain distance, lowers the cargo on cables, automatically releases the cargo, and moves off as it reels in the cables. In low gravity, perhaps the cables would be replaced by struts. Create different size vehicles for different masses of cargo.
Maybe in another 20 years.
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