This is on the backdrop of the successful launch of the ICE Cubes Media Set, as well as the progression of the LUVMI-XR Team in Space Resources Challenge.
Without extensive life support systems, humans cannot survive on the Moon due to the lack of atmosphere, the extreme temperatures, and the intense radiation emitted by the Sun. At the equator, over the course of a lunar day (which lasts 28 days), the temperature on the Moon goes from -180°C to +130°C!
Robots have the same problem. Without an atmosphere to help cool them down, they need big radiators to dissipate the heat they produce during the day and heaters to warm them up during the night or when they are in shadows. They also need special electronics which can resist the intense radiation on the Moon.
The “Lunar Volatiles Mobile Instrument” (LUVMI-X) is a medium-sized robot rover designed to explore the Moon, looking for resources such as water and methane that are necessary to sustain human life on the Moon. Developed by Space Applications Services, the prototype on display at the Space Expo is a mockup of the flight rover built to resist the extreme conditions on the Moon.
The rover was built for the European Commission Horizon 2020 research programme. It was developed alongside the instruments that it would take to the Moon so that they would have a platform to test with. It was designed and assembled in Brussels by a team of different types of engineers from Space Applications Services and other passionate engineers from all over the world.
This makes two LUVMI-X prototypes on exhibition. The other is on display at the ASTROPOLIS Space Science Center in Ostend until December 2022.
News/SpaceApps/Communications & Media/RC
