NASA’s CADRE Initiative Completes Construction and Testing of Moon Rovers
NASA’s Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration (CADRE) initiative has reached a major milestone with the completion of construction and testing on three small rovers that will explore the Moon together. The solar-powered rovers, about the size of a carry-on suitcase, are part of a technology demonstration project aimed at showcasing the potential of multirobot missions.
Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California assembled the rovers and subjected them to rigorous testing to ensure they can withstand the lunar environment. The rovers will work together autonomously, without direct commands from mission controllers on Earth, to conduct experiments on the Moon’s surface, including mapping and using ground-penetrating radar.
The hardware will soon be installed on a lander and launched to the Moon’s Reiner Gamma region for the tech demonstration. Engineers have also tested the cooperative autonomy software with full-scale development models, proving the rovers can drive together in formation and adjust plans as a group.
The rovers will be shipped to Intuitive Machines for installation on a Nova-C lander for launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The CADRE project, managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and supported by multiple NASA centers, Motiv Space Systems, and Clemson University, marks an exciting step forward in robotic exploration.
For more information about CADRE, visit: https://go.nasa.gov/cadre
For media inquiries, contact Melissa Pamer at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. at 626-314-4928 or [email protected].
