Gear

Developing Industrial Vehicles for NASA's Moon Base

As it develops its plan for a permanent moon base — including lunar transportation for astronauts, supplies, and heavy equipment — NASA is getting help from terrestrial experts "from polar researchers to miners and earth-movers," reports MSNBC.com. Among the companies involved: Boeing, which played a major role in developing the original Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) […]

Diggerbot

As it develops its plan for a permanent moon base — including lunar transportation for astronauts, supplies, and heavy equipment — NASA is getting help from terrestrial experts "from polar researchers to miners and earth-movers," reports MSNBC.com. Among the companies involved:

  • Boeing, which played a major role in developing the original Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV)

  • Caterpillar and allied companies, which are "advising NASA on the dynamics of dirt and the challenges of moving heavy equipment over the lunar surface"

  • Canada-based Norcat and Electric Vehicle Controllers, "working together to develop a drill suitable for mining on the moon"

One complication in developing industrial vehicles is the omnipresent, hyperabrasive dust and the qualities of the soil covering the moon's surface, says a NASA representative:

Roboticdrill

When you're moving large pieces of equipment, using whatever types of devices you are using, how is the soil going to react? How is it going to compact underneath the wheels? Could it potentially get in the way and ball things up? What is its usefulness in terms of being bulldozed around to help make barriers to radiation, or even to flatten out the surface for ease of maneuvering things in an outpost-type area? They're looking at a lot of different things in that regard — in particular in the area of robotics, because they're anticipating that robotics will be a key component there.

The accompanying slide show, which mixes artists' conceptions and images from terrestrial tests, is definitely worth a look.