Colorado’s own Lunar Outpost will provide one of two lunar terrain vehicles for U.S. astronauts’ return to the moon to create a base as part of the ongoing Artemis missions, NASA announced Tuesday.
The Golden-based company was awarded a $220 million contract to build and deliver the Pegasus LTV to the moon by 2028. The vehicle will hitch a ride to the moon’s South Pole region from rocket company Blue Origin, which was awarded a NASA contract of at least $188 million. California-based Astrolab landed a $219 million NASA contract for its vehicle. The LTVs are meant to be transportation for the astronauts and any moon materials they pick up.
Lunar Outpost’s Pegasus, which can operate manually or autonomously, will be used to scout out the area and do site exploration on the South Pole when the humans arrive in 2028. Pegasus also seats two people and supports livestreams from the lunar surface so earthlings can check out the adventures in real time. Earlier versions of Lunar Outpost’s moon rovers have been tested in Colorado in areas where rocky terrain and small hills roughly mimic moon conditions.
“We’ve spent the better part of the past decade engineering advanced mobility solutions designed for the realities of operating and building on the lunar surface,” Lunar Outpost founder and CEO Justin Cyrus said in a news release. “Pegasus gives astronauts the range, reliability, and flexibility needed to thrive in new terrain as we identify and prepare the sites that will become the first permanent lunar outpost.”
According to the company, NASA accelerated the timeline for lunar mobility last month so “Pegasus was developed in response to that,” a company spokesperson said. An earlier vehicle, the Eagle, was larger and will be used for larger-scale operations in the future.
The contract is Lunar Outpost’s ninth space mission. An earlier mission with its much smaller MAPP rover as part of the Lunar Voyage 1, hit a dead end when the Athena lander from Intuitive Machines landed on its side, preventing MAPP from deploying. Still, MAPP became the first commercial rover on the moon.
Lunar Outpost, which employs 140 people, is among several commercial space companies working with NASA. Earlier this month, it raised $30 million from investors and is expanding. The company plans to hire 50 people worldwide over the next year.