Facing the extreme environment of the moon, General Motors (GM) is providing its advanced battery and drive technology for the lunar rover project of NASA's Artemis program. The Artemis program is a key project for the United States’ manned lunar landing in the next decade. Its fifth phase, Artemis V, is expected to be implemented in 2030 or later. At that time, astronauts will explore the lunar south pole and be equipped with a new open lunar surface vehicle.
Three major international consortiums are bidding to build a new generation of lunar vehicles for the project. The Lunar Outpost team is working with General Motors to be responsible for the battery, chassis and automatic control parts. Compared with the lunar rover first deployed on Apollo 15 in 1971, this LTV (lunar off-road vehicle) will use a rechargeable battery pack with an expected lifespan of 10 years and a total cruising range of up to 30,000 kilometers, far exceeding the Apollo-era disposable batteries and the total mileage limit of 92 kilometers.
The moon experiences extreme temperature changes every two weeks, with nighttime temperatures as low as minus 173 degrees Celsius, and it cannot be charged by solar energy for two weeks. Therefore, LTV batteries must have high reliability, strong insulation and self-heating capabilities, and can cope with temperature differences and harsh environments at any time. In addition, GM did not develop a new battery chemistry system for the lunar rover. Instead, it adjusted it based on the latest design of its Earth EV, using high-nickel NCMA (nickel cobalt manganese aluminum oxide) lithium-ion batteries embedded in the chassis to optimize the center of gravity. The technology is similar to the battery systems used in GM’s existing models such as the GMC Hummer EV and Chevrolet Equinox EV, but with additional fault tolerance, heating and insulation structures for lunar exploration.
To ensure that each battery solder joint is defect-free, GM uses "ultra-precision laser welding" and "flash thermal imaging inspection" to make full use of the quality control experience accumulated in the earth's EV industry. The LTV's drive system also incorporates GMC's electric four-wheel drive off-road technology, with four-wheel independent motors and steering capabilities, enabling powerful maneuvering characteristics such as "crab walking" and "zero-point turning".
In terms of design, LTV is not only convenient for astronauts to drive in space suits, but also supports automatic driving and remote ground control. It is equipped with LiDAR radar and high-resolution cameras to minimize the operating burden of astronauts. According to reports, Artemis V will be the third manned lunar landing in this series, and it will also be the first time to provide professional lunar surface vehicles for astronauts. NASA will decide on the final partner in the near future.
It is reported that pressurized cabin-type lunar surface vehicles will be deployed for future lunar exploration for longer-distance manned missions. NASA has proposed in next year's budget application that it will increase investment in the exploration of the moon and Mars. Even if the overall budget is reduced by 24%, it still plans to increase funding by US$7 billion for related projects.