Leidos and its subsidiary Dynetics have announced plans to create a vehicle for lunar missions in a promotional partnership with race organizer NASCAR. happened announced At the 38th Annual National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.
NASCAR is a popular auto racing format in the United States. Unlike Formula 1, which uses cars specially designed for it, which are unsuitable for track riding, NASCAR uses cars similar to production cars.
“NASCAR’s partnership with Leidos means a lot when it comes to a car,” said Pete Young, NASCAR vice president and marketing manager. “As both companies are known for exciting innovations in different fields, this collaboration can bring together ideas not often found in traditional developments. We look forward to seeing this unique rover make its way across the diverse lunar landscape.” The promotional nature of the partnership likely means that NASCAR is asking for more investment from technology.
The technical details of the unveiled car are not yet known, but it belongs to the light class and looks very similar to the ones used by American astronauts on the Apollo missions. Leidos has already submitted an application for participation in the competition, and then NASA can arrange a contract for the development of the vehicle.
The lunar car will be required by NASA in the implementation of the Artemis program, which the US government plans to maintain and perpetuate human presence on the Moon. To do this, it would be necessary to build a lunar base, which would be almost impossible to operate without a suitable means of transport.
Previous view of a light lunar car introduced Northrop Grumman.