B-9 had Will Robinson. Twiki had Buck Rogers. And, of course, C-3PO and R2-D2 had Luke Skywalker. Now, in a scenario straight out of science fiction, MAPP will have whoever NASA names to the crew of the second Artemis mission to land on the moon.
The space agency has selected Lunar Outpost’s Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform, or MAPP, to become the first robotic rover to operate on the moon alongside astronauts. Although its tasks will be far simpler than those of the robots seen on TV and in the movies, the autonomous four-wheeled MAPP will help scientists learn more about the crew’s surroundings. Science instruments on the rover will characterize the surface plasma and behavior of the dust in the lunar environment.
“The Apollo era taught us that the further humanity is from Earth, the more dependent we are on science to protect and sustain human life on other planets,” said Nicky Fox, NASA’s associate administrator for science, in a statement. “By deploying these… science instruments on the lunar surface, our proving ground, NASA is leading the world in the creation of humanity’s interplanetary survival guide to ensure the health and safety of our spacecraft and human explorers as we begin our epic journey back to the Moon.”
“The Apollo missions showed us the challenges posed by dust on the lunar surface, and NASA’s Artemis plans to find solutions as a critical step to building a sustainable human presence in space,” said Justin Cyrus, founder and CEO of Lunar Outpost. “This will be Lunar Outpost’s seventh contracted mission, demonstrating our ability to serve as a platform for multiple mission profiles and provide mobility and robotics to help astronauts conduct research on the moon.”
Danger Gene Cernan, danger
NASA’s next mission to launch to the Moon, Artemis II in 2026, will fly four astronauts near the Moon and then return them to Earth on a “shakeout cruise” for the Orion crew spacecraft. That will be followed by Artemis III, targeted for 2028, which will see the first humans return to the lunar surface since the late Gene Cernan, Apollo 17 commander, left the last (to date) boot print on the moon more than 50 years ago this month.