NASA Awards $440 Million to Astrolab and Lunar Outpost to Develop Lunar Rovers for Planned Moon Base

NASA selected Astrolab and Lunar Outpost to build the first lunar terrain vehicles for a moon base it plans to develop near the lunar south pole over the next seven years. The agency is paying each company about $220 million under the contracts. A prototype of Astrolab's FLEX rover was demonstrated on a back street in Hawthorne, California.

The final design will resemble a four-wheel-drive electric vehicle that can operate autonomously or carry two astronauts and supplies. The rover is designed to operate for a year and traverse hundreds of miles across the lunar surface. Jaret Matthews, CEO and founder of Astrolab, said the vehicles must combine features of the Apollo Lunar Rover, which allowed astronauts to explore more than 50 miles of lunar crust and craters, with capabilities of the Perseverance Rover on Mars and the ability to be operated remotely from Earth.

"The Apollo Lunar Rover was a phenomenal machine, but it had a very different job to do than the one we're doing," Matthews told CBS News. NASA also selected Colorado-based Lunar Outpost to build a rover called Pegasus. Justin Cyrus, CEO of Lunar Outpost, said the companies aim to create vehicles capable of supporting activities beyond NASA missions.

"NASA wants to be one of many customers," Cyrus told CBS News. "NASA doesn't want to be the only customer. " NASA announced its $20 billion plans for the moon base on Tuesday. Two days later, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket exploded during a test at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The New Glenn Rocket plays a major role in NASA's Artemis moon program, and Blue Origin is developing a lunar lander that will deliver each rover to the lunar surface.