Lunar Surface Transporter Vehicle - Team 1

NASA has ambitious plans to return humans to the Moon through the Artemis Program. A future human mission will set the stage for permanent colonization, but it will require extraction and utilization of lunar resources to be feasible. Invaluable lessons were learned from the Apollo mission, including the utility of off-world wheeled transporters that enabled astronauts to travel long distances and explore. However, the Apollo rovers were rudimentary, operated during the lunar day, and were insufficient for astronaut survival lasting many months to years. In a future mission, astronauts must explore and prospect for lunar resources. This task is not trivial and will require moving hundreds of kilometers along extreme terrain and temperatures, carrying support infrastructure and habitat to evaluate various sites of interest. This year’s NASA RASCAL Competition calls for a Lunar Surface Transporter Vehicle that would not only extend astronaut exploration capabilities but also perform offloading, moving, deploying, and supporting payloads up to the scale of habitats. The transporter vehicle must be compatible with envisioned lunar surface-based astronaut life support system, human habitat modules, and base infrastructure. The transporter needs to provide adequate shielding from the extreme variations of the lunar surface. Note the project will require 6 students per team and the request is for two competing teams.