Who needs spacesuits?
Quote:
Who needs spacesuits?
The US space agency NASA unveiled a new lunar rover on Friday which aims to transform space exploration by allowing astronauts to roam large distances without cumbersome spacesuits when they return to the moon by 2020.
A team of scientists is testing the Small Pressurised Rover Concept vehicle – which resembles a small, futuristic recreational vehicle mounted on six sets of wheels.
The trials took place in a rocky, barren corner of northern Arizona, selected for its similarities to the surface of the moon.
“This is the next generation of lunar exploration,” said Doug Craig, NASA program’s manager, as an astronaut took the vehicle for a spin over a broad lava field framed by craggy mountains.
The battery powered rover travels at speeds of up to 10 kmph. It is part of a range of systems and equipment being developed by the space agency for its planned return to the moon over the next decade.
In fact, NASA is looking also to build a permanent manned base on the moon’s surface as a prelude to subsequent exploration missions to Mars.
The new pressurised rover follows on from vehicles used by the Apollo series of moon shots in the early 1970s that looked like stripped-down jeeps.
The new prototype has a pressurised cab and is fitted out with leather seats and bunks. It would allow a crew of two astronauts to take extended exploration trips for up to two weeks at a time, covering distances of up to 1,000 kms, Craig said.
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