Astrobotic Awarded $34.6M for Moon Demonstration

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Astrobotic will receive $34.6 million from the NASA Tipping Point partnership to demonstrate power transmission on the moon.

The funds will be used for a demonstration on the lunar surface called LunaGrid-Lite, which will transmit power from a lunar lander to a tethered rover.

During the demonstration, an Astrobotic 6U CubeRover will unreel more than half a mile of cable from an Astrobotic lunar lander and receive the first high voltage power transmitted through a cable across the lunar surface. The demonstration will serve as a pilot for Astrobotic’s LunaGrid service, which will deliver commercial power service by the watt to future customers on the lunar surface.

“LunaGrid-Lite will pave the way for power generation and distribution services on the moon and change the game for lunar surface systems like landers, rovers, habitats, science suits and in-situ resource utilization pilot plants,” said John Thornton, Astrobotic’s CEO. “With renewable, uninterrupted commercial power service, both crewed and robotic operations can be made sustainable for long-term operations.”

The 6U CubeRover will be delivered on an upcoming Astrobotic lander mission as early as 2026.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.