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It turn out a NASA contract bridge is n’t the only way to fund a mission on the moon .
Lunar engineering startupVenturi Astrolabannounced today that its first moon rover mission will bestow in over $ 160 million in customer contract bridge . That mission , capably name Mission 1 , will set up and set ashore on a SpaceX Starship as early as mid-2026 .
The contract bridge value is spread across eight client , including :
The three remaining client were not bring out .
Astrolab has developed a roamer it calls Flexible Logistics and Exploration , or Flex , that will be capable of carrying 1,500 kilograms of payload to the lunar surface . The Hawthorne , California - base startup announce its launch accord with SpaceX in March . At the clock time , Astrolab say that it had evolve the Flex rover in a faculty system , as opposed to the bespoke feeler of previous lunar rovers , which were custom - design for each mission .
“ Our Astrolab team has created much more than a rover for use on the Moon or Mars , ” enjoin Astrolab founding father and CEO Jaret Matthews pronounce in March . “ We ’ve created a logistics scheme that can conciliate a encompassing variety of cargo . We expect that that this approach will help lay down a permanent lunar outpost on the Moon at a blue cost and in less time than previously figure . ”
The rover was n’t just designed for load – or the synodic month . While this first Flex mission will maneuver autonomously , the rover can be modify to carry two astronauts in an unpressurized shape . The startup ’s eventual aim is to take on a full of life role in on - moonlight transportation , with SpaceX and others provide transporation to the lunar surface and companies like Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines developing landers . In the long term , Astrolab is even front to send off its wanderer to Mars .
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Astrolab is one of likely a fistful of companies that has submit a bid under NASA ’s Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services contract , which is looking for solutions that could transport astronauts around the lunar South Pole . That contract is expected to be awarded in March 2023 .
