Later this decade, an Australian-made rover will be launched to the Moon by NASA.
Named Roo-ver, after a competition that saw more than 8,000 entries from the public, the 20 kg suitcase-sized rover will collect broken rocks and dust from the lunar surface and return the material to a NASA-managed in-situ resource utilisation facility on the moon where oxygen will be extracted.
This is not an easy task but will lead to the development of new skills and technologies on Earth, as well as contribute to a sustained human presence on the Moon and beyond.
As a signatory to the Artemis Accords, Australia was selected for this mission because Australia is recognised as a world leader in remote operations and autonomous systems on Earth, with much of that experience coming from the resources sector.
This expertise is a perfect match for remote operations on the Moon because the rover will need to be semi-autonomous and will be controlled from Earth.
Image: An artist's impression of Roo-ver. Roo-ver will be controlled from Earth, and collect lunar soil known as regolith. The regolith will be taken to another piece of equipment where NASA will perform scientific experiments on it, including trying to extract oxygen (Credit: Australian Space Agency).
At this stage, Roo-ver is likely to land in the South Pole region of the Moon and will have an operational life of 14 days, or one lunar day.
This location is important because previous observations by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed deposits of water ice and other volatile compounds that are essential for the production of oxygen and rocket fuel.
Roo-ver is to be designed and developed under the Australian Space Agency’s Trailblazer program, which is a key component of the agency’s Moon to Mars initiative.
The Trailblazer program is a competitive two-stage program that will deliver a fully realised rover to the Moon. Stage One is the design phase, which is expected to be completed later this year.
Two Australian consortiums – ELO2 and AROSE – have each received $4 million in Australian Government grants to work on early-stage rover concepts.
The ELO2 (EPE and Lunar Outpost Oceania) consortium has already announced a rover prototype, which is being optimised with 3D printed parts to maximise its ability to move around the lunar surface.
The initial prototype focuses on testing chassis and suspension subsystems and features an early design of a collection device and special wheels to enable the rover to cross the Moon’s challenging terrain.
This is an excerpt of the story that will appear in the very first edition of The Southern Astronomer, available to purchase online on Monday, 1 July.
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