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As SpaceX ’s Starship test program stay on to gain momentum , the company ratify its 2nd commercial batch to deport a payload to the moon using a lunar lander variant of the monumental vehicle .
Starship will depositLunar Outpost’srugged rover , called Eagle , to the lunar surface by 2029 , the Colorado - based inauguration said . Lunar Outpost chief executive officer Justin Cyrus reject to provide other details about the mission , such as whether this will be a dedicated flight or part of a ride - share , or the cost . It ’s also indecipherable how Starship will really transport the rover , which looks like a little pickup motortruck , from inside the fomite to the surface .
Lunar Outpost ’s rover ambitiousness got a major encouragement from NASA earlier this year when the space agencyselected it , along with two other teams , for the initial phase of a lunar terrain vehicle ( LTV ) computer program . The three team were selected for the one - year declaration to upgrade their scouter concepts for potential use by astronauts under NASA ’s Artemis program . The 12 - calendar month period will culminate in a subsequent militant petition for proposals , where the three companies will then vie for a demonstration task guild .
The LTV plan has the potential to be very lucrative : The full potential economic value of the chore orders over the next 13 age is $ 4.6 billion , though the means has enjoin that due to budgeting concerns , it is only selecting a individual provider .
Even if the squad led by Lunar Outpost , which also include Leidos , General Motors , Goodyear , and MDA Space , is not pick out by NASA , Cyrus said the company plans on proceeding with rover development .
“ Lunar Outpost Eagle is our flagship vehicle and will be the rachis of frontier settlement on other planetary bodies , ” Cyrus aver in an emailed statement . “ Our troupe has been focused on mobility since inception and the lunar terrain fomite has accelerate our truly industry head capabilities which unlock a sustainable comportment on the moon and Mars . ”
The startup also closed a Series A round for an undisclosed amount last month to hold several initiative , including the rover development .
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The new deal for the Starship lading delivery keep up a similar contract SpaceX made last year with Venturi Astrolab — which is also leading a squad selected under the LTV program — to deliver its rover to the moon ’s aerofoil .
