General Motors and Lockheed Martin will develop a vehicle to drive NASA astronauts around on the moon’s surface, they said on Wednesday, rivaling for a space project that could also promote their brands on earth.
Both companies said they would work together to make a battery-powered, autonomous Lunar Terrain Vehicle for NASA’s Artemis lunar landing program, which intends to return U.S. astronauts to the moon as early as 2024.
NASA is expected to start a competition to develop lunar vehicles in its Artemis moon landing program. The agency has mentioned strategies for a range of lunar vehicles that can carry human explorers, haul commercial payloads or traverse remote areas of the moon on missions lasting as long as hundred days.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk‘s rocket launch company, SpaceX, won a $2.9 billion contract last month to build the spacecraft to carry NASA astronauts to the moon. That award is being challenged by Jeff Bezos‘ BlueOrigin and defense contractor Dynetics Inc.
Lockheed and GM have a history in space. Lockheed has already worked on NASA space projects for 50 years and GM helped develop the original NASA lunar rover, which ferried NASA astronauts on the surface of the moon during the 1970s.
For GM, getting back into the space business provides a new way to compete with Tesla Inc and SpaceX for the attention of the industry.
