Moon could have had a module on its surface, an itinerant vehicle And, of course, human beings. But it never featured a rover: as of 2023, there will be one.
students of the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pennsylvania will launch the Iris rover into space, in the Peregrine lunar lander, powered by a United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket.
The scheduled launch date for the Iris mission is on May 4.
pilgrim, the lunar lander will carry our natural satellite 13 other projects from various groups.
The student project did not have the visa of NASA, although they will surely take data to complete everything in the best way. The Artemis Program from the american aerospace agency seeks the long-term permanence of human beings on the Moon.
Iris is a small and light rover, with just 2 kilograms of weight. It has carbon fiber chassis and wheels.
More details on the launch of the Iris rover to the Moon
Raewyn Duvall, CMU graduate student and commander of the Iris mission, told more details about the launch of the rover to the Moon.
“Hundreds of students have invested thousands of hours in Iris. We have worked for years to achieve this mission, and having a release date on the calendar is an exciting step.” he stated in a press release.
“Iris,” Duvall added, “will open up lunar and space exploration by proving that a small, lightweight student-built rover can succeed on the Moon.”
the iris mission It will last only two and a half days: It will collect ultra-wideband radio frequency data and images for the development of new relative localization techniques.
CMU students they will remain monitoring the rover.
“Irrefutable proofs will soon be seen that what Carnegie Mellon has accomplished in planetary exploration is important.” said Professor William “Red” Whitaker, one of the mission guides.