LTV Gen 2

Program background

NASA began formal procurement of a next-generation lunar rover through its Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services acquisition, issuing a draft request for proposals on 2 November 2022 and the final RFP on 26 May 2023 with proposals due 10 July 2023. The LTVS framework differs fundamentally from earlier government-owned rover programs: industry teams own, operate, and maintain the vehicles and may use them for commercial customers outside NASA's contracted windows, with NASA estimating roughly 25 percent of rover usage attributable to non-NASA customers.

The contract is structured in two main phases. Phase 1 covers a 12-month feasibility task order for each selected provider, followed by a separate competitive task order for a delivery-and-demonstration mission — landing the rover on the Moon and validating performance ahead of Artemis V. NASA anticipated awarding the demonstration mission task order to only one provider. Phase 2 then procures routine LTV services, both crewed and autonomous, through 2039.

After delaying its award decision to 31 March 2024 to complete evaluations, NASA announced on 3 April 2024 that it had selected Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab as Phase 1 LTVS providers. The source-selection statement released 9 April 2024 disclosed the providers' proposed life-cycle cost estimates: Intuitive Machines at $1.692 billion, Lunar Outpost at $1.727 billion, and Astrolab at $1.928 billion across the full contemplated contract period.

Provider teams and vehicles

Three industry teams were selected in 2024, each with a distinct rover concept and partner lineup.

Intuitive Machines leads the Moon RACER (Reusable Autonomous Crewed Exploration Rover) team, with partners AVL, Boeing, Michelin, and Northrop Grumman. Moon RACER is designed as an unpressurized, reusable rover capable of both crew-driven and fully remote operations in the Artemis south-polar region.

Lunar Outpost leads the Lunar Dawn / Eagle / Pegasus family, with partners Lockheed Martin, General Motors (GM Defense), The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, MDA Space, and Leidos. The Eagle rover, described as a "space truck" LTV, is the full-capability variant; Pegasus is a lighter, mission-ready evolution engineered to meet NASA's updated crewed LTV requirements and sized to fit within the Blue Origin lander that will deliver it. For the initial NASA service configuration, Pegasus carries two astronauts side-by-side, is speed-capped at approximately 10 km/h, and does not include a robotic arm, with an initial operational-lifetime requirement of approximately one year under the contract phase.

Venturi Astrolab leads the FLEX (Flexible Logistics and Exploration) team, with partners Axiom Space, Interlune, and Odyssey Space Research. The NASA crewed variant is designated CLV-1 (Crewed Lunar Vehicle-1). Like Pegasus, CLV-1 is a smaller, lighter configuration of the full FLEX platform — without a robotic arm in the initial contract configuration and operating in the same ~10 km/h speed regime with a ~one-year initial service requirement. Astrolab describes FLEX explicitly as a logistics-focused exploration rover, capable of operating both with astronauts and as an uncrewed mobile science and cargo platform.

On 26 May 2026, NASA awarded crewed hardware contracts to the Pegasus and CLV-1 teams at approximately $220 million each: $220 million to Lunar Outpost for Pegasus and $219 million to Venturi Astrolab for CLV-1. Both LTVs are to be delivered to the lunar surface via Blue Origin's Mark 1 Endurance lander under a separate Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) 1.0 procurement, with NASA paying approximately $234 million per delivery mission to Blue Origin. To limit landing ejecta damage, NASA specified that LTVs must be parked approximately 2 km from lander touchdown sites.

Technical requirements and capabilities

NASA's LTVS RFP established a common set of baseline requirements applicable to all providers. Performance targets include driving approximately 800 miles (roughly 1,300 km) per year, up to approximately 12 miles (about 20 km) per day, with a maximum range of about 200 km from the deployment site. The vehicle must carry a payload mass of at least approximately 800 kg — including cargo such as deployable solar panels and base segments — and reach a top speed of approximately 10 km/h.

All LTVs must operate across the extreme environment of the lunar south pole: functioning through long, cold lunar nights, steep terrain, and low-angle lighting conditions, including areas of permanent shadow where water ice may be accessible. The thermal design must survive extreme cold in polar shadow and large thermal cycling during operations.

Dual-mode operation — crewed and robotic — is a defining requirement. The vehicle must support two suited astronauts with safe ingress and egress, yet also function as a semi-autonomous and teleoperated rover, drivable from Earth or lunar orbit, for cargo transport, science campaigns, and logistics runs between crewed landings. NASA characterized this as a cross between an Apollo-style crewed rover and a Mars-type uncrewed rover.

Additional mandated capabilities include advanced power management leveraging modern electric-vehicle energy storage and thermal technologies, autonomous driving with obstacle avoidance and route planning, state-of-the-art communications and navigation integrated with Artemis surface infrastructure, and robust fault management for autonomous modes. Providers must also meet NASA's technical requirements and safety standards for human-rated surface mobility.

Outside NASA contracted windows, providers are permitted to use their LTVs for commercial lunar surface activities unrelated to NASA missions, creating a dual-use business model. Reconfigurable cargo beds with universal payload interfaces are anticipated to support rapid swap-out of scientific and commercial payloads.

Surface operations concept

The LTV is conceived as a persistent lunar infrastructure asset rather than a mission-specific vehicle. Initial uncrewed delivery is planned ahead of the first south-pole landings, enabling checkout and early autonomous operations before astronauts arrive. Crewed use begins with Artemis V, currently planned for approximately 2029.

During crewed Artemis surface missions, the LTV extends astronaut EVA range and productivity by transporting two suited crew members plus tools, scientific payloads, and infrastructure elements to areas beyond normal walking distance, supporting sample collection, site reconnaissance, and base construction. Astronaut operations are expected to constitute only a small fraction of total operating time — approximately four weeks per year — with the system engineered for continuous year-round operation between visits.

Between crewed landings the LTV operates as a robotic rover: transporting cargo and science payloads between landing sites, depots, and experiment locations; staging equipment for upcoming Artemis missions; conducting resource prospecting for water ice and volatiles in permanently shadowed regions; and carrying out long-duration geophysical and environmental monitoring across many kilometers. The ability to survive and operate through the lunar night substantially increases science return compared to crew-visit-limited operations.

Site-preparation logistics roles identified in NASA planning include transporting fluid logistics packages (oxygen, nitrogen, and water), moving portable utility pallets for night survival and in-situ resource utilization support, deploying cables and fission power systems, and relocating regolith-moving packages and other infrastructure payloads.