California-based Venturi Astrolab uncovered its working model of the vehicle last week. The explorer, or rover, is called FLEX. Astrolab officials say the four-wheeled rover was designed to be sent to the moon by the American space agency NASA. FLEX was developed to transport astronauts and cargo and support a series of lunar activities and experiments.

If NASA chooses to use the vehicle, it will become part of the Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the moon as early as 2025. It also calls for establishing a long-term base on the moon that could one day launch astronauts to Mars. FLEX could become the first astronaut-transporting vehicle to visit the moon since NASA’s Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Apollo 17 was the last of six American manned missions to the moon.

Retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield recently test drove the vehicle. He said in a video released by Astrolab that rovers used during the Apollo missions were built purely for exploration purposes. But, Hadfield added, FLEX was designed to support astronauts landing on the moon for long-term stays. “Once you get there, you’ve got to be able to move things around,” he said. “You also need to transition the equipment that keeps you alive and that enables the activities.” Hadfield added: “When we settle somewhere, we don’t only need to get people from one place to another, but we need to move hardware(硬件设备), cargo, life support equipment and more.”

Apollo 17’s rover set a moon speed record of 17.7 kilometers per hour. Astrolab chief Jaret Matthews says FLEX can move just as fast. To operate FLEX, astronauts stand in the back and control the vehicle with a joystick(操纵杆) device. The vehicle weighs about 500 kilograms,but can carry loads up to 1,500 kilograms, Astrolab officials say. With its sun-powered batteries fully charged, FLEX is designed to operate continuously for up to eight hours. Matthews said the vehicle’s energy storing system can survive the extreme cold of a lunar night and the rover can operate in total darkness.

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