{"id":73113,"date":"2019-11-15T18:55:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-15T22:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?migration=converted-node-455290"},"modified":"2023-10-11T10:22:23","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T14:22:23","slug":"nasa-small-business-tipping-point-contracts-advance-small-moon-rover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/kennedy\/nasa-small-business-tipping-point-contracts-advance-small-moon-rover\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Small Business, Tipping Point Contracts Advance Small Moon Rover"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cuberover_side_profile.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cuberover_side_profile.jpg?w=1920\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"Astrobotic CubeRover with solar panels that is being developed under NASA\u2019s Tipping Point solicitation.\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cuberover_side_profile.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cuberover_side_profile.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cuberover_side_profile.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cuberover_side_profile.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cuberover_side_profile.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cuberover_side_profile.jpg?resize=400,225 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cuberover_side_profile.jpg?resize=600,338 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cuberover_side_profile.jpg?resize=900,506 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cuberover_side_profile.jpg?resize=1200,675 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" loading=\"eager\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">This illustration depicts an Astrobotic CubeRover with solar panels that is being developed under NASA\u2019s Tipping Point solicitation. The $2 million Tipping Point project was awarded by the agency\u2019s Space Technology Mission Directorate.<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\"><strong><em>Credits: Astrobotic<\/em><\/strong><\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p><em>By Jim Cawley<br>\nNASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cmu_lunar_rover.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1526\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cmu_lunar_rover.jpg?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"Astrobotic's CubeRover that will be tested at Kennedy Space Center\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cmu_lunar_rover.jpg 4032w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cmu_lunar_rover.jpg?resize=300,224 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cmu_lunar_rover.jpg?resize=768,572 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cmu_lunar_rover.jpg?resize=1024,763 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cmu_lunar_rover.jpg?resize=1536,1144 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cmu_lunar_rover.jpg?resize=2048,1526 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cmu_lunar_rover.jpg?resize=400,298 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cmu_lunar_rover.jpg?resize=600,447 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cmu_lunar_rover.jpg?resize=900,671 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cmu_lunar_rover.jpg?resize=1200,894 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cmu_lunar_rover.jpg?resize=2000,1490 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">Astrobotic will test a CubeRover in Kennedy Space Center\u2019s Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) lab.<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\"><strong><em><strong><em>Credits: Carnegie Mellon University<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>A partnership involving NASA and a Pittsburgh-based space robotics company and university will let us explore the lunar surface in new ways. The project to develop a shoebox-sized rover is part of a multifaceted approach to mature commercial space capabilities that benefit future NASA missions under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/artemis\" rel=\"noopener\">Artemis<\/a> program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOne of the many benefits of this project is CubeRover will be solar-powered,\u201d said Jim Mantovani, a senior physicist at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida who is part the <a href=\"https:\/\/kscpartnerships.ksc.nasa.gov\/Partnering-Opportunities\/Capabilities-and-Testing\/Technical-Capabilities\/Swamp-Works\" rel=\"noopener\">Swamp Works<\/a> team. \u201cIf it relied on just the battery, it would have to go back to the lander to recharge. So, this makes it a very versatile mobile platform.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Working with Kennedy, Astrobotic started to apply the idea behind CubeSats \u2014 small, low-cost satellites built to standard dimensions \u2014 to develop commercial rovers as light as five pounds. The partnership began in August 2017 when Astrobotic received NASA funding through a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to establish the technical merit of the concept. The company received a follow-on SBIR award for research and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are very interested in companies developing exploration technologies that are commercially viable,\u201d said Mike Vinje, small business technology manager in the SBIR\/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Office at Kennedy. \u201cAstrobotic was able to take the commercial potential of their NASA work and, along with the Swamp Works folks, really knock it out of the park.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In September 2019, NASA\u2019s Space Technology Mission Directorate awarded Astrobotic a $2 million <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/press-release\/nasa-announces-new-tipping-point-partnerships-for-moon-and-mars-technologies\" rel=\"noopener\">Tipping Point award<\/a> to ready CubeRover for the Moon. Partners include Carnegie Mellon University, Kennedy and NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Rob Mueller, a senior technologist and principal investigator for Swamp Works, capabilities being developed for CubeRover could be used to search for resources, map terrain or establish a communications relay on the Moon, Mars or an asteroid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe could also have two CubeRovers working in tandem or a swarm of them. We could send one into a permanently shadowed region of the Moon,\u201d Mueller said. \u201cYour risk posture changes. With high risk comes high reward, and this is the potential of CubeRover.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of the Phase II SBIR work, which wraps up in mid-2020, the company will bring the first generation CubeRover to Kennedy\u2019s Swamp Works. When it makes the trip from Pennsylvania to Florida, CubeRover will join <a href=\"https:\/\/technology.nasa.gov\/patent\/KSC-TOPS-7\" rel=\"noopener\">RASSOR<\/a> \u2014 the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot \u2014 in the lab. Robots like RASSOR and CubeRover may one day work together in other parts of the solar system, gathering resources for NASA missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWith these kinds of rovers, we could actually pinpoint where the large concentrations of water might be below the lunar surface,\u201d Mantovani said. \u201cIf CubeRover can point to where there is water, then RASSOR could dig it up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While at Swamp Works, the rover will perform mobility tests in a bin filled with 120 tons of lunar regolith simulant. In the regolith bin, CubeRover will experience a high-fidelity simulation of operating on the lunar surface. The Astrobotic team will measure mobility and efficiency, closely monitoring scenarios such as: how much the rover sinks or slips into the regolith, how it navigates incline and decline slopes and how it handles encountering rocks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are looking forward to getting some really relevant results,\u201d said Mike Provenzano, the director of planetary mobility at Astrobotic. \u201cOur team is so excited. We\u2019d like to thank Kennedy and NASA for believing in this mission with us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NASA\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/moontomars\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Moon to Mars<\/a> exploration approach includes innovative new partnerships, as the agency looks to expand its capabilities in space. Astrobotic is one of nine U.S. commercial providers on contract under NASA\u2019s Commercial Lunar Payload Services project to bid on opportunities to deliver NASA payloads to the Moon.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Astrobotic was one of 14 companies NASA selected for a Tipping Point award this year, and the company\u2019s project will start in March 2020, running for two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s why we like this project so much \u2014 this is a model for NASA\u2019s future,\u201d Mueller said. \u201cNASA develops technologies, commercial industry puts them into the marketplace, and ultimately the U.S. economy benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Jim Cawley NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center A partnership involving NASA and a Pittsburgh-based space robotics company and university will let us explore the lunar surface in new ways. The project to develop a shoebox-sized rover is part of a multifaceted approach to mature commercial space capabilities that benefit future NASA missions under the Artemis [...]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":77794,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":[],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2862,13004,3338,2879],"news-tags":[],"internal-terms":[10285,3917,3934],"coauthors":[8386],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"NASA Small Business, Tipping Point Contracts Advance Small Moon Rover","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/kennedy\/nasa-small-business-tipping-point-contracts-advance-small-moon-rover\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/kennedy\/nasa-small-business-tipping-point-contracts-advance-small-moon-rover\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cuberover_side_profile.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cuberover_side_profile.jpg"},"articleSection":"NASA Centers & Facilities","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jim Cawley"}],"creator":["Jim Cawley"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NASA","logo":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/nasa-logo.svg"},"keywords":["NASA Directorates","Space Technology Mission Directorate","Kennedy Space Center","Research and Technology at Kennedy Space Center","Small Business Innovation Research \/ Small Business"],"dateCreated":"2019-11-15T22:55:00Z","datePublished":"2019-11-15T22:55:00Z","dateModified":"2023-10-11T14:22:23Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"NASA Small Business, Tipping Point Contracts Advance Small Moon Rover\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/kennedy\/nasa-small-business-tipping-point-contracts-advance-small-moon-rover\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cuberover_side_profile.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2019-11-15T22:55:00Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"NASA Centers & Facilities\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"NASA Directorates,Space Technology Mission Directorate,Kennedy Space Center,Research and Technology at Kennedy Space Center,Small Business Innovation Research \/ Small Business\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"Jim Cawley\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":4,"time_ago":"5 years","featured_image":{"id":77794,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/cuberover_side_profile.jpg","title":"cuberover_side_profile","alt":"Astrobotic CubeRover with solar panels that is being developed under NASA\u2019s Tipping Point solicitation.","caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73113"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73113"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":387480,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73113\/revisions\/387480"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73113"},{"taxonomy":"news-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tags?post=73113"},{"taxonomy":"internal-terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-terms?post=73113"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=73113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}