The Aegis-Class Rover is a pressurized, long-duration lunar surface mobility platform designed to support sustained operations at the lunar south pole and other high-value exploration sites. It combines extended-duration crew habitation (30–60 days), integrated power and thermal architecture optimized for low solar elevation, suitport-based dust boundary control, radiation storm shelter capability, and a NASA cFS-based flight software and crew operations console.
ASI develops the vehicle-defining systems: the pressurized crew module, the integrated power and thermal architecture (roof radiator and the ASI node power/thermal interface), and the flight software and operations console. The mobility chassis is sourced rather than rebuilt — drawn from the maturing open-architecture lunar rover market — with ASI specifying the interface and integrating the platform.
The vehicle is architected as a surface infrastructure element, not a short-sortie exploration rover. It is intended to operate as part of a distributed logistics network including orbital habitats, surface outposts, LUNET utility nodes, and ISRU systems.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Nominal crew | 2–4 |
| Emergency crew | Up to 6 (short-duration) |
| Mission duration | 30–60 days |
| Range | ~76 km per battery charge on firm ground (46 km soft); 500 km via LUNET recharge (energetic, not geometric); ~27 km/day sustained on solar |
| Cruise speed | ~11 km/h firm, ~6 km/h soft, at 1.5 kW continuous per wheel |
| Maximum speed | ~15 km/h, terrain and hazard-detection limited |
The rover geometry is derived from a strict constraint chain, ensuring traceability from crew habitability to vehicle mass and stability:
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Overall length | ~10.0 m |
| Overall width | 4.7 m (4.1 m hull over a 4.0 m track, 0.7 m wheels) |
| Track width (center-to-center) | 4.0 m |
| Wheelbase | 6.5 m |
| Hull section | Flattened cylinder, 4.1 × 2.7 m exterior (3.9 × 2.5 m interior), 1.4 m flats, 1.35 m side-wall radius |
| Height to hull roof | 3.65 m |
| Height to roof radiator top | 3.80 m |
| Ground clearance | ~0.50 m |
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| CG height | ~1.64 m above ground (group-height estimate, TBR) |
| Static Stability Factor (SSF) | ~1.22 — just above the 1.2 floor; track or battery-bay height is the lever |
| NASA target (crewed) | ≥ 1.2 |
The 4.0 m track width provides margin for dynamic loads, slope traversal, and cargo asymmetry.
| Group | Mass (kg) |
|---|---|
| Pressure hull (flattened cylinder), deck, racks, outer layer, mounts | 2,231 |
| Mobility platform — partner allocation (frame, 6 stations, steering, brakes) | 1,226 |
| Battery pack 100 kWh LFP, PMAD, harness | 1,196 |
| Fuel cell, reactants for 5 shadow days, COPV tanks | 428 |
| Roof radiator, node interface plate, wings, fluid loop | 280 |
| ECLSS hardware, O₂ and N₂ with tanks | 747 |
| Water 700 kg (200 consumable + 500 shelter) and bladders | 840 |
| Interior outfit, avionics, sensors, comms | 700 |
| Crew (3 × 80 kg), 2 EVA suits, tools | 590 |
| Food, clothing, spares, medical, science allocation | 773 |
| Growth margin, 20 % on dry hardware | 1,504 |
| Gross vehicle mass | ~10,489 |
Chassis, suspension, and drivetrain mass is the platform partner's allocation against the integrated-vehicle budget. The Rev A figure of ~5,400 kg carried no food, water, oxygen or reactant contents, no growth margin, and a cylinder's hull mass on a box-shaped cabin; the Rev B budget is built line by line with the bases stated, and the hull comes from a cross-section trade that replaced the 3.6 × 2.3 m box with a 4.1 × 2.7 m flattened cylinder at about half the hull mass for the same width at shoulder height. Line items are held in the Rev B model set.
The mobility chassis — suspension, drivetrain, wheels, and body structure — is sourced from a third-party platform partner drawn from the maturing open-architecture lunar rover market. ASI specifies the interface and integrates the platform; the reference configuration below states the operational envelope and interface requirements the crew module brings to any candidate platform. Specific chassis selection and final parameter values follow once a platform partnership is established around this envelope.
These figures represent design-baseline expectations consistent with currently demonstrated lunar mobility platforms and serve as the integration starting point for partner discussions.
The rover flight software is built on NASA's Core Flight System (cFS) — the same flight-heritage framework used across NASA missions. Mission-application source is identical across simulation, bench, and flight targets; only the hardware abstraction layer (HAL) changes between environments, so verification performed in simulation carries forward rather than being rebuilt for each phase.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| cFS applications | 16 (cFE core + 9 standard cFS + 7 Aegis mission apps) |
| FDIR safing modes | 5 — NOMINAL → THERM_SAFE → ECLSS_SAFE → LOADSHED → SHELTER |
| Navigation update rate | 20 Hz (aegis_nav navigation & odometry) |
| Telemetry protocol | CCSDS (standards-compliant) |
| Console link | WebSocket bridge (CCSDS-UDP ↔ browser) |
| Runtime | cFE — Core Flight Executive, NASA flight heritage |
The same flight software and console are designed to operate across whichever mobility chassis the crew module is paired with; the integration spine is consistent across platform partnerships.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Interior length | 8.0 m |
| Interior width | 3.9 m at mid-height; 3.1 m at deck and shoulder height; 2.1 m at full headroom (aisle) |
| Interior height | 2.1 m clear |
| Pressurised volume | ~66 m³ (59 m³ above the deck to 2.1 m, 7 m³ cove under the deck) |
| Net habitable volume | ~30–35 m³ — about 10 m³ per crew for 60 days, below the ~25 m³ long-duration guideline; a known compromise |
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Total pressure | 56.5 kPa (8.2 psia) — NASA exploration atmosphere |
| O₂ partial pressure | 19.2 kPa |
| O₂ fraction | 34% — under the 36% flammability line, so the NASA-STD-6001 materials database applies |
| Temperature | 18–22°C |
| Relative humidity | 40–55% |
Reduced pressure lowers structural mass and reduces EVA prebreathe requirements.
| Category | Gross Demand (kg) |
|---|---|
| Drinking | 360 |
| Food rehydration | 90 |
| Hygiene | 90 |
| Medical / contingency | 36 |
| Total gross demand | 576 |
With 85% recovery, net makeup requirement ≈ 86 kg. Vehicle carries 700 kg at mission start: 200 kg consumable fill plus 500 kg in the storm-shelter bladders, which doubles as reserve.
Fallback capability: traditional airlock mode.
Estimated severe SPE dose reduced from lethal exposure range to survivable emergency exposure range.
| Mode | Power |
|---|---|
| Cruise (11 km/h, 1.5 kW per wheel) | ~11,200 W incl. hotel (1.04 kWh/km at 10.5 t) |
| Station-keeping | ~2,170 W |
| Peak | ~8,890 W |
| Source | Capability |
|---|---|
| Roof array | None in Rev B: a flat 20 m² array made ~0.8 kW at 6° and blocked the radiator; a sun-tracking mast array for driving is TBD |
| Deployable wing arrays (10 m², sun-tracking when parked) | ~3.5 kW combined; the only solar source until the mast array is sized |
| Fuel cell | 3 kW; reactants and tanks for 5 shadow days (~430 kg) |
| Battery storage | 100 kWh, 4 × 25 kWh LFP; one traverse day |
| Outpost recharge | LUNET node, logistics-based |
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Area | 6.0 m², horizontal, white coating, on the hull roof |
| Operating temperature | 310 K |
| Net rejection, clean (ε 0.88, α_s 0.12, 6° sun) | ~444 W/m² — ~2,662 W |
| Net rejection, dusty end of mission (ε 0.75, α_s 0.25) | ~357 W/m² — ~2,143 W (sizing case) |
| Solar load on a horizontal surface at 6° | ~142 W/m² incident, ~17 W/m² absorbed clean |
| Roof interface | Node power and thermal connection plate — the ASI standard shared with the hopper |
Rev A carried a 20 m² solar array 0.4 m above the radiator to shade it. At polar sun angles the shade saves almost nothing, because the sun grazes a horizontal surface, while the array blocks the radiator's view of space. With the documented view factor of 0.30 the shaded panel rejected ~302 W/m² against ~444 W/m² unshaded; the view factor for a full-coverage array at 0.4 m is about 0.73, which takes the shaded figure to ~75 W/m². The shadow itself needs a 3.8 m overhang at 6° to cover the panel, so the low sun passed under the array regardless. The concept is kept for high-sun-angle assets and is described as such on its own page.
The Aegis-Class Rover is designed to: