Astrobotic will build the wheels of the Italian Space Agency’s planned driveable lunar habitat, the company announced on Friday.
The Pittsburgh, PA-based space firm won a contract of undisclosed value from Thales Alenia Space to contribute the wheels for Italy’s Multi-Purpose Habitation.
Repurposing: The wheels are designed to be light and flexible to both save on launch costs and help the roving habitat handle the uneven lunar terrain. Astrobotic is planning to build on work it has already done on the wheels for its Astrobotic Mobility Platform, and create a larger tire that can last for the Italian Space Agency’s planned 10-year mission.
“This program highlights the strength of international cooperation in lunar exploration,” an Astrobotic spokesperson said in a statement. “By combining Astrobotic’s experience in lunar mobility with Thales Alenia Space Italia’s leadership in habitation systems, we are contributing to a shared vision for long-duration operations on the Moon.”
Context: Astrobotic is also working with NASA, and has received multiple CLPS contracts for commercial lunar missions. It launched its first in January 2024, but an issue after launch prohibited the lander from making it to the Moon. It instead burned up in Earth’s atmosphere.
The company is gearing up for its next CLPS flight, Astrobotic Griffin Mission-1, which is expected to deliver Astrobotic’s FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform (FLIP) rover to the lunar south pole. It’s expected to launch no earlier than July.
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Japan’s dream of setting up reliable commercial access to orbit suffered a major setback this week when Space One’s Kairos rocket logged its third consecutive launch failure.
On Wednesday, the Tokyo-based launch startup terminated the launch of its Kairos rocket approximately 69 seconds into flight. The company did not share a technical reason for ending the flight beyond determining that “success was difficult,” according to a translated post on X.
The termination occurred before the rocket reached the fairing separation stage of flight, meaning that all payloads on board were lost as Kairos tore apart during its tumble back to Earth. Kairos carried five payloads onboard, including sats from Tokyo-based ArkEdge Space and the Taiwan Space Agency.
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