Astrolab, a new company developing a lunar and martian rover the size of a Jeep Wrangler, Was chosen SpaceX’s Starship as a way to get there. Dubbed FLEX, which stands for Flex Logistics and Exploration Rover, it can go up to 15 miles per hour and is equipped with a robotic arm that assists cargo as it transports goods, equipment and people around the lunar surface. I’m here. The FLEX rover is a logistics system for lunar and martian exploration. The rover’s design is compatible with NASA’s requirements for Lunar Terrain Vehicles (LTVs). The rover will be a long-term standard component of NASA’s Artemis program.
It used to be possible and efficient to build a new rover from scratch for each mission. However, the rapid increase in the number of launches and the massive increase in rocket payload capacity has rendered this method useless. Astrolab has created a FLEX rover capable of transporting and deploying payloads in a modular system, demonstrating how a rover with advanced capabilities and flexibility can be useful for deploying technology demonstrations and other specialized systems on the lunar surface. showed that there is
Astrolab hopes the FLEX rover will be the first rover on the moon. This will help us achieve our goal of sending people to Mars permanently and eventually to Mars. Astrolab believes FLEX will be the largest rover ever to explore the lunar surface after landing on the moon.
Thanks to an agreement between Astrolab and SpaceX, in mid-2026 the FLEX rover will be launched into space as part of an unmanned Starship cargo mission. According to Astrolab creator and CEO Jarrett Matthews, this is SpaceX’s first commercial cargo contract to the moon. The FLEX rover carries supplies on the 2026 Starship mission. According to Matthews, this could help people stay on the moon and elsewhere for longer periods of time.
“Our ultimate goal is to deploy rovers to the Moon and Mars,” Matthews added. SpaceX’s next-generation rocket hasn’t flown yet, but the company is still accepting reservations for rides to his Starship, including Astrolab’s FLEX rover. FLEX rovers are crucial to the future of extraterrestrial economies, which are becoming more and more likely as new technologies and ideas are developed.
Also Read: Glass beads found on the moon could be the key to a sustainable water supply.
