GM and Goodyear help NASA put a new lunar rover on wheels as the technology heads for the Moon’s south pole

This is not an ordinary electric car, but a lunar rover bought as a service

GM and Goodyear are not simply developing an “electric car for the Moon” between themselves. The project is led by Lunar Outpost, NASA selected Pegasus under the Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services programme, and the team includes GM, Goodyear and Leidos. According to GM, astronauts should drive the Pegasus LTV on the Moon in 2028.

NASA is changing the whole logic at the same time. The agency does not want to own the new lunar rover in the traditional sense, but to buy mobility as a service from industry partners. The LTV must combine an Apollo style crewed rover with a Mars style uncrewed rover. An astronaut can drive it, but the vehicle must also move by remote control or in autonomous mode, carry cargo and collect data between crewed missions.

GM brings experience from the Ultium era to the Moon

GM’s role is the most interesting from an automotive point of view. The company is adapting electric car battery technology for lunar use and contributing to the chassis and suspension so the vehicle can cope with craters, steep slopes and one sixth of Earth’s gravity. GM also stresses its Apollo heritage. The company helped develop the wheels, suspension, steering system and drivetrain for the original Lunar Roving Vehicles.

That does not mean Pegasus will simply use a GMC Hummer EV battery with a space badge stuck on it. The lunar environment demands completely different thermal management, fault tolerance and material choices. Vacuum, dust, radiation, two weeks of darkness and violent temperature changes strain batteries and electronics in a way no terrestrial off road test can repeat.

Goodyear’s tyres must work where rubber would fail

Goodyear’s job is the tyres. An ordinary car tyre is useless on the Moon because there is no atmosphere, temperatures swing to extremes and regolith is sharp and abrasive. Goodyear said in its earlier Lunar Mobility project that it would use its experience with airless tyres to develop solutions capable of surviving the lunar surface and a temperature range from roughly minus 157 degrees Celsius to plus 121 degrees Celsius.

There is a direct link here to tyre development on Earth. Airless tyres are attractive for cars, autonomous shuttles and micromobility because they do not suffer a conventional puncture. The Moon is an extreme laboratory for that technology. If a tyre can survive regolith, vacuum and thermal cycling, the same knowledge can improve airless tyre systems back on Earth.

Pegasus must drive, explore and work alone

According to Lunar Outpost, Pegasus carries two astronauts side by side, gives them a wide field of vision and allows quick entry and exit in a spacesuit. The vehicle must work in manual, remote and autonomous modes. Pegasus also supports live broadcasting from the lunar surface, which means NASA sees it not only as transport, but also as a science and communications platform.

NASA’s own description adds a more measurable frame. Pegasus is a lighter LTV solution designed to operate for up to a year, with manual, autonomous and teleoperated driving modes and a speed above 14.5 km/h. That does not sound fast by road car standards, but on the Moon, among craters and rocks, it is a working speed, not a party trick.

The competition follows two different directions

NASA has not put all its eggs in one basket. The agency awarded Lunar Outpost a 220 million dollar contract (about 203 million euros) and Astrolab a 219 million dollar contract (about 202 million euros) for the first phase of LTV development and lunar delivery. Blue Origin received a 188 million dollar contract (about 173 million euros) to deliver the rovers to the lunar surface using its Mark 1 uncrewed cargo lander.

Astrolab’s CLV 1 is based on the FLEX architecture, weighs about 907 kg and can move on level ground at more than 9.7 km/h. Pegasus, according to NASA’s description, is lighter and focuses on year long operation, three driving modes and technology with an Apollo lineage. In effect, NASA is testing two philosophies in parallel. One leans more towards a logistics and carrier platform, the other towards a lighter and quicker crew vehicle.

Next to Apollo’s lunar buggy, the new LTV is a different machine

The Apollo lunar rovers worked for only a few days during the 1971 and 1972 missions and stayed relatively close to the landing sites. Goodyear’s 2022 background material noted that the Apollo rovers were built for short trips within about 8 km. Artemis needs a different tool. The vehicle must travel farther, last longer and remain on the Moon after the astronauts leave.

This is where car technology becomes space technology. A terrestrial electric car needs to be comfortable, efficient and safe. A lunar rover must survive without maintenance in a place with no recovery truck, tyre shop or charging network. Every system needs redundancy, because a broken wheel or overheated battery is not just a warranty case. It is a mission risk.

The critical point: this is development, not a finished production vehicle

Pegasus is a serious NASA contract, but it is not yet a vehicle that has driven on a mission. NASA says the selected providers must refine their final designs, carry out crewed assessments and qualify flight units for operational readiness over the next 18 months. That is a long road from the test stand to the regolith of the Moon’s south pole.

So it is worth avoiding the simple line that “GM and Goodyear’s car is going to the Moon”. More precisely, Lunar Outpost’s Pegasus was selected as one of NASA’s first operational lunar rovers under the LTV programme. GM is contributing electric vehicle and chassis technology, while Goodyear is developing tyres for lunar use. If the programme stays on course, astronauts could use it on Moon missions in 2028.

Technical summary

NASA selected Lunar Outpost’s Pegasus LTV as one of the Artemis programme’s Lunar Terrain Vehicle solutions.

GM is contributing battery technology, chassis and suspension development, while Goodyear is creating airless tyres for the Moon.

Pegasus must operate manually, remotely and autonomously.

NASA describes Pegasus as a vehicle designed to work for up to one year, with a speed above 14.5 km/h.

Lunar Outpost received a 220 million dollar contract (about 203 million euros), Astrolab received 219 million dollars (about 202 million euros) and Blue Origin received 188 million dollars (about 173 million euros) to deliver the rovers to the Moon.