LSSW: Extreme Mobility and Unlimited Exploration August 2, 2009
Posted by Nick Azer in : Lunar Surface Systems Workshop, NASA, rover , trackbackThis is the latest in my ongoing series of coverage of the Lunar Surface Systems Workshop, where oodles of new, advanced concepts for NASA’s future lunar base were shown.
Lunar Surface Architecture Status: Part 6
Scenario 8 is a fun one—it emphasizes using the small pressurized Lunar Electric Rovers (pictured below) liberally.
The rovers can sustain a two-person crew for up to two weeks at a time, and travel hundreds of miles per trip. They’re pressurized, so astronauts can live comfortably and suit-free inside (with nifty suitlocks for excursions on foot). Mobile habitats, essentially.
There’s an adventure to the idea that appeals to me—camping trips exploring new areas of the Moon. An exciting concept with a sort of old-frontier romance to it, I think this would go a long ways toward inspiring the public, especially as the initial novelty wears off over the crew’s long stays.
Below is the manifest (timeline) for this scenario, which gets the LERs down pretty quick after the initial human return to the Moon:
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Up next: a look at the basics of the base itself.
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