Those who follow the exploits of Elon Musk are likely familiar with the Tesla CEO's other business ventures, including SpaceX.
But for all the billionaire's talk about colonizing Mars and the moon, it's a Tesla rival moving forward with plans to power lunar vehicles.
What Happened: NASA recently announced that three teams are developing a lunar terrain vehicle to take astronauts to the Moon. Among the companies working on a lunar vehicle are Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR), the company that recently helped the U.S. land on the Moon for the first time since 1972.
One of the other teams developing a lunar vehicle is Lunar Outpost, a contractor partnering with General Motors (NYSE:GM), Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Goodyear Tire (NASDAQ:GT) and MDA Space.
According to InsideEVs, the lunar terrain vehicle from the team could be powered by the Ultium technology used by GM for its electric vehicles like the Chevrolet Blazer EV, GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Lyriq.
Other teams include companies like Intuitive Machines, Boeing, Michelin, Northrop Grumman, Axiom Space and Odyssey Space Research.
The teams will work on a yearlong study for the development of the vehicle, with a requirement including being able to be remotely controlled in case astronauts can't control the vehicle.
NASA will likely pick one winning team and work with them to develop the vehicle before it heads to the Moon.
"With a rich legacy supporting our nation's space program, General Motors is thrilled to support American astronauts once again as they embark on this important mission to the moon," a GM spokesperson was quoted saying by Automotive News.
Related Link: Elon Musk Celebrates US 'Landing On The Moon' For First Time Since 1972 – 'Congrats'
Why It's Important: The moon landing in early 2024 may have increased aspirations to get astronauts back to the lunar surface.
NASA wants to take astronauts to the Moon in 2026 and would like to have a new vehicle for them to help get around on the surface. Artemis I was deployed in November 2022 and is set to be followed with Artemis II as early as September 2025 and Artemis III as early as September 2026.
Musk has often feuded with billionaire and Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos over the two billionaire's space aspirations.
If a vehicle made with General Motors electric vehicle technology ends up being selected as the winning lunar vehicle, it could lead to the rivalry between the two automotive companies also shifting over to space.
SpaceX has several contracts in place with NASA including for the Artemis project, which means that Musk's space company could someday transport a GM made vehicle to the Moon.
Image: Pixabay
那些關注埃隆·馬斯克漏洞的人可能熟悉特斯拉首席執行官的其他商業活動，包括SpaceX。
但是，儘管這位億萬富翁一直在談論殖民火星和月球，但它是特斯拉的競爭對手，正在推進爲月球飛行器提供動力的計劃。
發生了什麼：美國宇航局最近宣佈，三個團隊正在開發一種月球地形飛行器，用於將宇航員送上月球。研發月球飛行器的公司包括Intuitive Machines（納斯達克股票代碼：LUNR），該公司最近自1972年以來首次幫助美國登陸月球。
開發月球飛行器的另一個團隊是Lunar Outpost，這是一家與通用汽車（紐約證券交易所代碼：GM）、洛克希德·馬丁公司（紐約證券交易所代碼：LMT）、固特異輪胎（納斯達克股票代碼：GT）和MDA Space合作的承包商。
根據InsideEVS的說法，該團隊的月球地形車可能由通用汽車在雪佛蘭開拓者電動汽車、GMC悍馬電動汽車和凱迪拉克Lyriq等電動汽車中使用的Ultium技術提供動力。
其他團隊包括Intuitive Machines、波音、米其林、諾斯羅普·格魯曼公司、Axiom Space和奧德賽太空研究等公司。
這些團隊將對該飛行器的開發進行爲期一年的研究，其要求包括能夠進行遠程控制，以防宇航員無法控制飛行器。
美國宇航局很可能會選出一支獲勝的團隊，在飛行器登上月球之前與他們合作開發該飛行器。
《汽車新聞》援引通用汽車發言人的話說：“憑藉豐富的遺產支持我們國家的太空計劃，通用汽車很高興再次支持美國宇航員踏上這項重要的登月任務。”
相關鏈接：埃隆·馬斯克自1972年以來首次慶祝美國 “登上月球” — “恭喜”
爲何重要：2024年初的登月可能增加了讓宇航員重返月球表面的願望。
美國宇航局希望在2026年將宇航員帶到月球上，並希望爲他們提供一輛新的飛行器來幫助他們在地表上四處走動。Artemis I 於 2022 年 11 月部署，最早定於 2025 年 9 月部署 Artemis II，最早在 2026 年 9 月部署 Artemis III。
馬斯克經常與億萬富翁和亞馬遜創始人傑夫·貝佐斯就兩位億萬富翁的太空願望發生爭執。
如果採用通用汽車電動汽車技術製造的車輛最終被選爲獲勝的月球飛行器，則可能導致兩家汽車公司之間的競爭也轉移到太空。
SpaceX與美國宇航局簽訂了幾份合同，包括阿耳忒彌斯項目，這意味着馬斯克的太空公司有朝一日可能會將通用汽車製造的飛行器運送到月球。
圖片：Pixabay
