{"id":21898,"date":"2023-09-03T00:11:49","date_gmt":"2023-09-02T16:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/astrolabs-flex-rover-secures-spacex-deal-for-lunar-mission-aboard-starship\/"},"modified":"2023-09-03T00:11:49","modified_gmt":"2023-09-02T16:11:49","slug":"astrolabs-flex-rover-secures-spacex-deal-for-lunar-mission-aboard-starship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/astrolabs-flex-rover-secures-spacex-deal-for-lunar-mission-aboard-starship\/","title":{"rendered":"Astrolab\u2019s FLEX rover secures SpaceX deal for lunar mission aboard Starship"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Image: Theresa Cross<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cFLEX is the kind of multi-mode, modular payload transport that will help establish a permanent lunar outpost on the Moon at a lower cost and in less time than previously envisioned,\u201d said Jaret Matthews, the founder and CEO of Venturi Astrolab.<\/p>\n

The rover is designed to serve as both a cargo transporter and an unpressurized astronaut vehicle. Its attachable transport platform can carry up to two standing astronauts, enabling spacesuited explorers to navigate the lunar landscape and transport tools, samples, and equipment as needed. <\/p>\n

Image: Astrolab<\/p>\n

” data-large-file=”https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/FsjLtnSWwAIzK0M.jpeg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1024″ height=”682″ width=”1024″ src=”https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/FsjLtnSWwAIzK0M.jpeg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1024″ alt=”” class=”wp-image-38158″ srcset=”https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/FsjLtnSWwAIzK0M.jpeg 2000w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/FsjLtnSWwAIzK0M.jpeg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/FsjLtnSWwAIzK0M.jpeg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/FsjLtnSWwAIzK0M.jpeg?resize=1024,682 1024w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/FsjLtnSWwAIzK0M.jpeg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/FsjLtnSWwAIzK0M.jpeg?resize=350,233 350w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/FsjLtnSWwAIzK0M.jpeg?resize=140,93 140w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/FsjLtnSWwAIzK0M.jpeg?resize=1500,1000 1500w, https:\/\/spaceexplored.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/FsjLtnSWwAIzK0M.jpeg?resize=150,100 150w” sizes=”auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>

Image: Astrolab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the first lunar mission, FLEX is expected to disembark from a garage in Starship and descend to the lunar surface using Starship\u2019s elevator. Once there, the rover would leverage its capabilities to mobilize and assemble payload containers brought down with it.<\/p>\n

While the specific customers for this mission remain undisclosed, Astrolab anticipates unveiling further details in the coming months. The company hopes its design focus on mobility, navigation, communication, and power solutions allow customers to focus on their specific goals without being encumbered by the rover\u2019s basic functionalities.<\/p>\n

The company also has its sights on NASA\u2019s Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) competition. As the U.S. space agency seeks proposals for the LTV, Astrolab\u2019s adaptable and versatile design could put the company in an advantageous position. <\/p>\n

Expected to aid astronauts on lunar missions while offering remote robotic control between human landings, NASA\u2019s LTV contract would align well with FLEX\u2019s publicized capabilities. With more than 20 full time employees and strategic partnerships, Astrolab sees themselves as well-positioned to compete against major aerospace players in the LTV arena.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Astrolab team has created much more than a rover for use on the Moon or Mars,\u201d Matthews said in a company statement earlier this year. \u201cWe\u2019ve created a logistics system that can accommodate a wide variety of cargo. We expect that this approach will help establish a permanent lunar outpost on the Moon at a lower cost and in less time than previously envisioned. We are delighted that this contract with SpaceX will allow Astrolab to demonstrate the advantages of the FLEX rover and its modular payload system.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Image: Theresa Cross \u201cFLEX is the kind of multi-mode, modular payload transport that will help establish a permanent lunar outpost on the Moon at a lower cost and in less time than previously envisioned,\u201d said Jaret Matthews, the founder and CEO of Venturi Astrolab. The rover is designed to serve as both a cargo transporter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21898"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21898\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}