Retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield and MIT aerospace graduate student Michelle Lin piloted the FLEX rover during a recent field test in California’s Mojave Desert. The test highlighted the rover’s capabilities, including setting up a vertical solar array. Hadfield expressed his excitement about driving the FLEX rover, indicating its potential for supporting human missions beyond Earth.
Designed for NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to send humans back to the moon by 2025 and establish a sustainable lunar base, FLEX represents a new era of lunar exploration. The rover, comparable in size to a car, offers enhanced capabilities over previous moon buggies and Mars rovers. It is a versatile all-purpose vehicle that can be operated by astronauts or remotely controlled, thanks to its modular payload system.
Astrolab’s CEO, Jaret Matthews, emphasized the importance of an efficient network for sustained human presence beyond Earth. He stated, “for humanity to truly live and operate in a sustained way off Earth, there needs to exist an efficient and economical network all the way from the launch pad to the ultimate outpost.”
If NASA integrates FLEX into the Artemis program, it will mark the return of a passenger-capable rover to the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in 1972. With a speed comparable to the record-setting Apollo 17 rover, FLEX can navigate the moon’s terrain efficiently. The rover weighs over 1,100 pounds with a cargo capacity of 3,300 pounds, enabling two astronauts to travel for eight hours on a single charge.
FLEX’s solar-powered batteries ensure survival during the extreme cold of a lunar night, lasting up to 300 hours at the moon’s south pole. Its capabilities align with NASA’s goal of establishing a sustainable lunar base before venturing to Mars, making it a crucial asset for future space exploration endeavors.(With inputs from TOI)