Astrobotic's VOLT rover passes key Lunar surface tests

Astrobotic's VOLT rover passes key Lunar surface tests
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 17, 2024

Astrobotic has advanced its efforts to create a lunar power grid by beginning a summer-long test campaign for its VSAT Optimized for Lunar Traverse (VOLT). The VOLT rover, designed to traverse the Moon's surface, features a vertical solar array to harness solar energy for charging various lunar assets such as habitats, rovers, and scientific instruments, particularly at the lunar south pole.

The VOLT engineering model's mobile base underwent rigorous testing at NASA's Glenn Research Center's Simulated Lunar Operations Laboratory (SLOPE) in Cleveland. These tests assessed the rover's stability, gimbal functionality, and sun tracking on a simulated lunar regolith slope. Although designed for 15-degree inclines, the rover exceeded expectations by maintaining stability on a 20-degree slope without slippage.

The gimbal of VOLT kept a level position within a 3-degree tolerance, proving it can support the 60-foot vertical solar array scheduled for integration later this year. NASA Glenn's motion capture cameras confirmed the rover's stability on a regolith surface, ensuring its capability to navigate the expected terrain of the lunar south pole.

"To supply continuous power at the poles of the Moon, we need to take advantage of existing peaks of persistent light: locations with near constant sunlight throughout the year. Since most of these locations are at crater rims with high slope angles, we designed VOLT to deploy on extreme slopes. These tests proved that our system can operate successfully, with plenty of margin for more extreme locations," said Robert Rolley, Astrobotic's Principal Investigator for VOLT.

Before the test campaign, Astrobotic's team developed, prototyped, and assembled the VOLT's mobile base, a rover with a chassis the size of a minivan. The assembly, including electronics and the gimbal system, was completed within 12 weeks. The gimbal is crucial for orienting the solar array to capture sunlight, leveling it on uneven terrain, and maintaining stability while autonomously tracking the Sun in 360 degrees. The VOLT can be delivered to the Moon on Astrobotic's Griffin lunar lander and operate independently without needing a tow.

VOLT is an integral part of Astrobotic's LunaGrid system, designed to deliver power on the Moon. LunaGrid is a network of tethered VOLTs that generate and distribute power via wired connections and wireless chargers onboard tethered CubeRovers, acting as mobile power plugs. This system aims to support lunar systems during the day and ensure their survival through the lunar night.

"It's imperative that we solve the power-generation challenge on the Moon for sustainable long-term operations," said John Landreneau, Senior Project Manager at Astrobotic. "VOLT's ability to precisely drive and operate in the most desirable areas for solar capture and distribution sets this technology apart. With strategic partnerships and novel tech developed in-house by our team, VOLT and the LunaGrid system are making great progress to bring reliable power to lunar surface systems like landers, rovers, habitats, and science suites."

The complete VOLT engineering model will be unveiled in late October at the Keystone Space Conference in Pittsburgh, PA. Astrobotic aims to deploy and demonstrate LunaGrid elements on the Moon's surface by mid-2026, with the first operational LunaGrid expected by 2028 at the lunar south pole.