NASA built a human base on the Moon with this $ 6 million vehicle

50 years ago, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first people to set foot on the Moon. After this success, humanity continues to prepare for challenges to explore the new universe.

Before setting foot on Mars, people need to set up a Moon base to transition. What means will we move here? The answer is the Lunar Electric Rover, which overrides the NASA terrain to conquer "Sister Hang".

Lunar Electric Rover is part of the "Constellation" mission (the mission of the Constellation) , to bring people to the Moon again.

In the 1970s, the last three Apollo trains brought to the Moon the terrain vehicles to help astronauts collect rock samples far from the landing zone. However, the car at this time was as slow as golf cars, according to Apollo 11 astronaut. It was hard to expect anything more than that in the 1970s, for the car to run on the Moon was a period. .

Hope of mankind

This time, the engineers equipped it with outstanding features. The purpose of Choc Sao mission is to build transitional spacecraft launch stations. The new car is therefore also equipped with special features.

A pressure chamber is integrated for the vehicle, helping astronauts to live up to 2 weeks on the Moon, in addition to a bed, a toilet with a shower. The vehicle is both a mobile and capable of crossing the terrain and is also equipped with superior bulldozing capabilities, helping to build the first infrastructure for the Moon base.

Lunar Electric Rover, a vehicle that overrides the NASA terrain used to conquer the Moon for 6 million USD, not including development fees.(Photo: Anton Watts).

The car was nicknamed the "Golden Vehicle" by NASA, with 12 wheels arranged in six pairs with its own engine. All wheels are independent driving. Each pair of wheels has a separate suspension that allows them to climb over the rocks easily.

In order for the vehicle to operate on the Moon, it must be an electric vehicle, because there is no air for the internal combustion engine to operate. Eight sets of batteries pinned in the frame create torque of more than 1,600 Nm, more powerful than a Bugatti Veyron. Maybe Rover with the power of a bulldozer.

Although only reaching 20 km / h, the machine prioritizes power over speed, concurrently functions as a mobile home. The car can travel 96 km per charge, farther than the total distance all vehicles mission Apollo has accumulated. Solar-powered stations will be placed around the Moon, so astronauts simply change old batteries into new ones without waiting.

The cost of the carriage is about 6 million USD, not including the development fee. In addition, the vehicle must be sent separately to the Moon Ares rocket, not with the astronaut in the module as the 70s.

Mobile home in space

To train astronauts, a center was built in Houston, USA with the same terrain characteristics as the Moon to test drive. Inside this super expensive car, in front of the driver area, then the living area. The drive is quite bright, like the Lancaster bomber cockpit, with a panoramic view.

Vehicles are not equipped with steering wheel, but need to drive joystick like playing games. Due to its special mobility, this steering wheel is also designed to be flexible. The whole car is controlled by an advanced electronic system with multiple touch screens.

Astronauts can be active right inside the Lunar Electric Rover.(Photo: Anton Watts).

The car is capable of traveling 90 degrees easily thanks to independent engines. Astronauts just put the joystick to the right or left, no need to turn around like a regular car. This is really a dream car not only for astronauts, but also for car enthusiasts.

The suspension of the car feels very strange. Since there are absolutely no vibrations on the car, the driver hardly feels the bumpy of the road surface, though passing through rocks of different sizes. The design engineer has equipped the vehicle with extremely good suspension system, thanks to the advances in the latest electronic vibration protection system.

In tests in the New Mexico desert, NASA controlled Rover to compete with several military-grade Humvees. After a few days, the military machines were torn apart like that, while Rover was still unharmed. Former Apollo astronaut and driver of the 1970 car version - Harrison Schmitt - highly rated Rover.

The car uses joystick, when the control feels like a game.(Photo: Anton Watts) 0.

It is difficult to imagine what driving on the Moon would be. Historically, only 6 people have tried this in Apollo missions.

This group of astronauts said that driving the terrain on the Moon was very interesting, because the weak gravity gave the feeling that the car kept flying every time it stumbled upon potholes and elephant drives. Not to mention, at that time, the wheels made of steel mesh to reduce the load so there was no good grip.

In general, vibration, squirrel, short operating distance, difficult to control . is the first experience recorded by early 'Moon supercar' manufacturers.

Unlike 50 years ago, Lunar Electric Rover is now equipped with the "latest teeth" of the latest technologies, promising to be a powerful tool for humans to build on our only natural satellite. This will be a stepping stone for humanity to conquer the red planet and possibly many other planets.