ARVADA, Colorado — Lunar Outpost, a leading private space company, is rapidly advancing its innovative lunar terrain vehicle (LTV), a large rover designed for future Artemis missions. This capable rover will traverse the moon's rugged, crater-filled landscape, providing astronauts with essential mobility. Recently, a tour of Lunar Outpost's Mission Control offered a detailed glimpse into the development of the LTV, named the Eagle, and how the company utilizes its Autonomous Test Facility in Rye, Colorado, to enhance this off-Earth vehicle.
According to Justin Cyrus, CEO and co-founder of Lunar Outpost, the design of the Eagle LTV merges the agility of a dune buggy with the robustness of a heavy-duty truck. In April 2024, NASA selected Lunar Outpost as part of a trio of teams to conduct a one-year feasibility study for the agency. The contract was awarded to the Lunar Dawn team, which is a collaborative effort involving General Motors, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, MDA Space, and Leidos. Other teams, including Intuitive Machines and Venturi Astrolab, were also chosen for their involvement in LTV-related projects. NASA is anticipated to announce its ultimate selection for the LTV by the end of the year.
Lunar Outpost has already initiated trials using its small Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) rover, which was sent to the moon onboard Intuitive Machine's Athena lunar lander. Unfortunately, the Athena lander tipped over during its lunar landing on March 6, 2025, preventing MAPP from deploying and exploring the lunar south pole. "That first mission didn’t go quite as we hoped," commented Cyrus. However, the team successfully controlled the rover in cislunar space and gathered crucial data from the lunar surface, bringing them tantalizingly close to actual lunar exploration.
Looking ahead, another Lunar Outpost payload is set to participate in Intuitive Machine's next lunar landing attempt, scheduled for 2026, which will target the Reiner Gamma region to investigate the enigmatic lunar swirl phenomenon.
Lunar Outpost's Mission Control is a cozy yet sophisticated environment equipped with high-definition screens that adjust their colors based on operational status. “We use red, green, blue, and purple for different modes and operations,” Cyrus explained, noting that a bright red light indicates a crisis situation. Each control station focuses on a specific function, overseen by a flight director and support staff. Large displays showcase activities at the Autonomous Test Facility in Rye, which is designed to simulate lunar conditions with craters, rocks, and berms for extensive vehicle testing.
The facility allows for long-duration tests of large-scale vehicles, whether operated autonomously or through human interaction. Evaluations of moon-bound equipment are conducted using the Stargate Lunar Outpost mission control platform, which facilitates real-time operator decision-making and enhances the teleoperation of robotic systems.
The Lunar Outpost LTV is engineered to operate in multiple modes on the moon. It can be driven directly by astronauts, operate autonomously without human input, or be teleoperated from mission control on Earth. The vehicle can reach speeds of up to 25 miles per hour (40 kph), although Cyrus cautions against exceeding this speed due to the unpredictable lunar terrain. Typically, the LTV will function at lower speeds of 15 mph (24 kph), but it can achieve higher speeds in emergency situations on flat surfaces.
Additionally, the LTV’s autonomous capabilities allow it to handle repetitive tasks. It features a robotic arm that extends a couple of meters, enabling it to clean solar panels or maintain lunar landing and launch pads, thereby allowing astronauts to concentrate on critical scientific missions. The design includes user-friendly tool accessibility and a workbench tailored for the needs of Artemis astronauts, incorporating valuable feedback from them regarding ergonomic features such as stair height and grab handle positioning.
One of the key challenges for the LTV is its ability to function on the moon during both day and night cycles, making thermal management a critical aspect of the design. Cyrus mentioned that Lunar Outpost is developing unique technologies that will enable the LTV to explore permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) on the moon. These PSRs, which remain in darkness, are believed to harbor water ice that could be transformed into essential resources such as drinkable water, breathable oxygen, and rocket fuel.
“We can not only survive but operate in PSRs for many tens of hours at a time,” Cyrus affirmed. “We are a lunar mobility company, and we have invested considerable effort into reducing risks associated with our technology over the years, validating our critical systems to prepare for lunar surface missions. We are ready to drive.”
