Audi flies to the moon: preflight preparation of the lunar rover has begun

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    Audi, the well-known manufacturer of the same name, announced the start of the preparation of its Lunar Quattro lunar rover for flight to the Earth’s natural satellite. The lunar rover itself is already ready, and in the near future they are going to transfer it to the Part-Time Scientists group , which will take part in the Google Lunar XPRIZE project.

    Audi has been working with this team for a long time within the framework of the project to create its own moon rover. Scientists have already done quite a lot to improve the design of the apparatus. For example, the design is facilitated, remote control is provided, and a quattro drive is added (thanks to which the lunar rover got its name).



    As for the Google Lunar XPRIZE project itself , its budget is about $ 30 million. To receive a prize under the project, the applicant (it must be a company with private financing) must successfully deliver his lunar rover to the Moon, and explore the first 500 meters of the path, providing a report of high resolution photos and videos of the Moon.



    The advantage of the Audi Lunokhod is all-wheel drive technology and the ability to control the device remotely. This lunar rover will be launched to the moon by the end of 2017. The lunar rover will be in flight for about five days, and NASA will land next to the Apollnoa-17 landing site in 1972.



    Scientists working on a project to create a new lunar rover made the frame of the system, mainly from aluminum. The system will receive energy from the Sun, for which the device is equipped with solar panels. As mentioned above, the Lunokhod has an autonomous and all-wheel drive control system.

    The maximum speed of the system will be about 3.6 km / h. The lunar rover is equipped with two stereoscopic cameras and a conventional camera for scientific purposes.



    Regarding the Xprize Foundation itself, then this is a premium fund to support revolutionary innovations aimed at improving the life of all mankind. The prizes are awarded in four categories: energy and environment (Eng. Energy & Environment), development of the environment (Eng. Exploration), education and development (Eng. Education & Global development), biology and medicine (Eng. Life Sciences). Fund funds come from private donors and corporations.

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