NASA has awarded Astrolab and its partners a contract worth up to $1.9 billion to advance the development of the Lunar Terrain Vehicle which will help Artemis astronauts explore more of the Moon’s surface.
Read the full announcement:
Today we announce a launch agreement with
@SpaceX
- Our FLEX rover is headed to the Moon aboard a Starship landing system as soon as mid-2026.
Once it completes its mission, FLEX will become the largest and most capable rover to ever travel to the 🌕
We are thrilled to share part of our growing customer base for Mission 1, set to launch aboard Starship as early as mid-2026. Together, we’re embarking on a journey to unlock the mysteries of the lunar landscape and jumpstart the lunar economy.
Thank you
@argolunarwater
,…
Our CEO, Jaret Matthews, is on-site to view
@SpaceX
’s Starship launch tomorrow morning. 🚀
We’re all very excited and wish our launch & landing provider good luck on this exciting test flight!
Well my friends, it has all come down to this. Almost 2 years of waiting since SN15, and we have very good signs the big
#SpaceX
Starship OFT event is on top of us. That and MUCH more!
🚀Thanks so much for watching and supporting what we do! ♥️
We’re pleased to be in Houston, Texas this week meeting with NASA, as well as our partners at
@Axiom_Space
and
@OdysseySpaceRes
. And of course we had to take our FLEX rover for a spin! We may be driving in Axiom’s parking lot today, but we’ll be driving on the lunar surface soon!
Such capabilities will allow FLEX to conduct high-priority science, deploy surface infrastructure and technology demos, and eventually, transport astronauts.
Our multipurpose rover will carry a variety of customer payloads throughout the first mission to prove its versatile capabilities, including a modular payload system and a highly dexterous robotic arm, among other innovations yet to be revealed.
Our FLEX rover’s highly dexterous robotic arm can deploy payloads as large as 12U cubesat size and set up and service a variety of systems.
👀 Have a payload you want to take with us to the 🌕?
Learn more about Mission 1 and reserve your spot here:
With our launch vehicle secured, we are looking for partners that want to take their payloads for a ride aboard our rover. Start reserving your payload’s spot, and let’s roam together on the Moon!
Learn more about Mission 1:
What is Astrolab’s FLEX Rover? Our robotic explorer can…
👩🚀 👩🚀 Carry two suited astronauts
🦾 Accommodate a robotic arm to support science exploration
🤖 Perform robotic cargo logistics
🌖 Survive the extreme temperatures at the lunar South Pole
And so much more!
We are proud to be partnering with
@Axiom_Space
and
@OdysseySpaceRes
on our contract to develop the Lunar Terrain Vehicle for the Artemis missions! Together this team plans to develop the largest and most capable rover to ever travel to the Moon.
Let's dive into the exciting steps that will shape the Moon's future.
Step 1: Building the Lunar Logistics Platform
Our FLEX rover is creating a logistics platform that will enable large-scale infrastructure deployment and data collection. Imagine a robust system for…
Thanks to everyone who has stopped by to test out our FLEX rover at Space Symposium! There’s still time to come by our booth and check out our robotic explorer. 🌖
Congratulations to
@SpaceX
on today’s test flight of Starship.
Today was an important milestone for your entire team. We’re looking forward to your next test flight and we can’t wait to ride Starship to the Moon in 2026. 🌕🚀
It was an honor to have Apollo 16 Lunar Module Pilot, Brigadier General Charlie Duke, USAF (Ret) come visit FLEX last week at Space Symposium! It’s incredible to share our lunar rover with lunar pioneers like him.
Congratulations to the
@Astrolab_Space
team! The FLEX rover is being designed to provide future astronauts with the ability to explore the lunar surface while wearing the
#AxEMU
. Read more about our partnership:
The lunar economy is a massive opportunity predicted to exceed $170B USD through 2040. Let’s dive deeper into the economic opportunities:
Resource Utilization: Resources mined on the Moon, like water and minerals, can be transformed into rocket fuel and building materials. This…
As the
@washingtonpost
reports, as part of its
@NASAArtemis
program,
@NASA
is looking for a new Moon rover. One of the options the agency will consider is FLEX, the rover designed and built by our team at
@Astrolab_Space
. Learn more:
Up close and personal with the FLEX rover from
@Astrolab_Space
, designed for use on the Moon and Mars, which is targeting deployment on the lunar surface in 2026.
#SpaceSymposium
Yesterday, the
@nytimes
highlighted our most recent milestone - Signing a launch agreement with
@SpaceX
to deliver our FLEX rover to the Moon in mid-2026. 🌕🚀👇
Great analysis by
@DrPhiltill
on the opportunity to derive value from lunar resources in the Starship economy. We're already working hard on solutions that will help unlock those resources.
I keep hearing that lunar Starship will put lunar resources out of business. This paper was focused *exactly* on that claim and it shows the claim is false.
One reason people keep drawing this wrong conclusion is because… /1
Step 3: Resource Extraction and Processing
With the infrastructure in place, FLEX will enable resource extraction and processing, supporting energy-intensive activities. This means harnessing lunar resources for oxygen, water, and more, significantly reducing our reliance on…
The FLEX rover made a guest appearance at the
@ExplorersClub
Annual Dinner this weekend! It was incredible to be surrounded by so many pioneers of exploration.
FLEX’s tour around the country continues this week at the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium spring meeting at
@JHUAPL
! We’re excited to talk with the space community about humanity’s return to the Moon.
Astrolab is at Space Symposium this week!
CEO Jaret Matthews talked at the NASA booth earlier today about our FLEX rover, which you can also find at the conference.
Meet FLEX. Astrolab’s adaptive, multi-use planetary rover is built to provide the mobility required to support a permanent presence on the Moon and Mars. Learn about our recent field test with
@Cmdr_Hadfield
+
@MichTheMartian
.
We are hiring! 🌖
Come join the world-class team that is building the robotic platform for the multi-planet future. Check out our openings for our Business and Engineering teams here: 💫
Excited to show off FLEX at the Paris Air Show next week! Our CEO, Jaret will be there on Monday. DM us if you would like to meet and discuss how we can take you to the 🌙!!
➡️ Meet FLEX at the Static Display Area, Stand B4
In 2026, it will conduct scientific experiments and commercial endeavours on the lunar surface.
@Venturi
&
@Astrolab_Space
designed it to transport and deploy payloads in a modular system.
#FromMonacoToTheMoon
#Venturi
#FLEX
From the initial ideation to the first diagrams, FLEX was designed to be the ultimate mobility solution for the Moon, Mars and beyond. While we wait excitedly for NASA to announce the winner(s), we continue to test FLEX, ensuring it is ready to answer the call, if chosen. 🤞…
NASA will host a news conference announcing the company, or companies, selected in developing the Lunar Terrain Vehicle, to help
#Artemis
astronauts explore more of the Moon. The televised event is set for 4pm ET Wednesday, April 3, here at JSC.
Want to be a part of Astrolab’s journey to the Moon?
We’re hiring engineers, IT specialists, management leads, office coordinators, and more!
Check out our openings for:
Avionics Engineers (All Levels):
Safety and Mission Assurance Director (LTVS):…
#ICYMI
, NASA has selected Astrolab, together with its teammates
@Axiom_Space
and
@OdysseySpaceRes
, to develop the Lunar Terrain Vehicle which will help Artemis astronauts explore more of the Moon’s surface!
Congratulations to all the student winners of NASA’s 2024 Human Exploration Rover Challenge! Making a rover isn’t easy (we know!), so seeing all the creations from these high school and college students is hugely inspiring.
We can’t wait to see what you all build next.
Want to work on building rovers that move humanity forward? We’re hiring!
From manufacturing and mechanical engineers to a delivery services manager, check out all our open positions here:
Want to see FLEX in action? Check out this test drive by
@GadiNBC
, host of
@Overview
on
@PeacockTV
. Come back any time Gadi, we’d love to have you. 🚀🌕🤖
Responses to
@NASA
's Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services RFP are due today, and Astrolab is excited to share that we’ve officially thrown our hat in the ring!
We’ve worked tirelessly over the last three years to develop FLEX into the most versatile rover ever created so that it can…
Thanks to
@AviationWeek
for highlighting our FLEX rover in this article. 🦾🌕🚀
Lunar Terrain Vehicle Bidders Detail Concepts As Contest Heats Up | Aviation Week Network
Images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team confirmed Odysseus completed its landing at 80.13°S and 1.44°E at a 2579 m elevation. After traveling more than 600,000 miles, Odysseus landed within 1.5 km of its intended Malapert A landing site, using a contingent…
Please welcome Akila Saravanan 🇮🇳🇺🇸 to the
@owensfellowship
class of 2022!
Saravanan is a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering and Computer Science at
@MIT
and will work at
@Astrolab_Space
this summer.
We are excited to have our FLEX rover on display today and tomorrow at the
@WSJ
's Tech Live event as well as a VR simulation of driving FLEX on the Moon.🌕
Tomorrow (10/17), our CEO, Jaret Matthews, will be hosting the New Horizons for the Lunar Economy round table at 12:45pm.…
Last month, the Astrolab team took a visit to York Elementary to share FLEX with the local Hawthorne, CA community! It’s always a joy to get outside of the offices and labs to help inspire the Artemis generation to look towards the stars.✨
When FLEX arrives on the lunar surface, we expect it will become the largest and most capable rover to ever travel to the Moon. 🌖 With a maximum combined rover and cargo mass of more than two tons, the FLEX rover is nearly three times the mass of its largest predecessor.
We are excited to reveal Moonbeam Laboratory, our new optics lab! This controlled lighting environment allows us to recreate different lunar scenes, such as long shadows from a low Sun angle, and then test and optimize vision-based hardware for different conditions.
Check out…
Step 4: Establishing a Permanent Human Presence
The ultimate goal: establishing a permanent human presence on the Moon. FLEX will build out the infrastructure for lunar habitats, life support systems, and scientific facilities. It's a giant leap toward a thriving lunar economy.…
It was great to meet the
@AstroLab_
Space team at their HQ in Hawthorne, CA! It was fun taking the
#FLEX
lunar rover for a spin with my good friend Gildo Pastor. FLEX is considered the fastest rover in the solar system!
The future is FLEXible. Download the FLEX Payload Interface Guide to learn more about the opportunities for potential payload partners:
#lunarlogistics
#payload
Step 2: Deploying a Sustainable Energy & Communications Network
Flex will deploy cutting-edge communications and energy collection, storage, and distribution networks. These networks will serve as the lifeline for lunar activities, ensuring seamless data transmission and a…
Astrolab is proud to join
@HPE
at the
#SpaceSymposium
this week. ✨
Stop by Booth
#1149
to meet the team and check out the FLEX rover. 🌕
While we’re going to the Moon in 2026, you can do a virtual test drive of FLEX on the Moon with our IVR headset today!
WHEELS IN THE DIRT | Our team recently completed a field test of our lunar rover prototype where we tested new capabilities and payloads in volcanic terrain. Read below to find out about the features we added and what we achieved. 🌕
Elevating Mission 1 in 2024: In 2023 we made headlines. Join us in 2024, as we continue building the foundations of the lunar economy.
Reserve your payload on Mission 1:
#astrolab
#newspaceeconomy
#lunareconomy
Today our CEO Jaret Matthews joined space industry leaders at Buckingham Palace where HM King Charles III unveiled the Astra Carta framework, to encourage the sustainable use of cislunar space. Jaret had a chance to speak with HM about the important role FLEX will play in the…
We recently volunteered at the
@LAFoodBank
helping the afternoon shift pack 1,344 emergency food kits to be distributed in the area doing times of need. Our team’s commitment to make an impact is one of the things that set us apart.
#astrolab
#makeanimpact
#CommunityService
As we approach the end of the year, we would like to recognize our Fall 2022 intern, David Villahermosa (🇵🇷), for his outstanding contributions to many essential work areas within our company. 🧵 👇🏼
📸: Thomas Pryor
Curious about the next frontier in space exploration? Hear directly from our founder, Jaret Matthews, as he discusses Astrolab's lunar payload delivery services and the path to Lunar exploration. 🌙
You can follow the links below or search for the Space Business Podcast to…
Meet our
@PGSFellowship
2023 Fellow, Lordina O. Mensah!
A first-year Mechanical Engineering and Information Communication Technology student at the
@universityofky
, this summer she will join our Software Engineering branch to help refine our FLEX lunar rover’s functionalities.
Andrew Welter took the stage at the Space Resources Roundtable to share FLEX's advantage in building a lunar economy. Join us in celebrating his expertise and insights. We couldn't be prouder to have Andrew representing our team and a big thanks to
@coschoolofmines
.
Today we’re extremely grateful for our passionate team who constantly finds ways to push the envelope and for our colleagues from around the globe for their contributions to advance our common objectives - establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon and eventually Mars. 🦃🌕
Meet our
@mattfellowship
2023 class fellow, Andrew Lesh! 🚀🌕
Currently a Civil & Environmental Engineering Ph.D. student at
@Stanford
, he brings vast experiences in the industry to our MechEng team, where he will design and mature our FLEX lunar rover and other technologies.
Thanks to The Wall Street Journal for highlighting our work to establish and sustain a prosperous lunar infrastructure in today's piece.
Read it here 👇🏼 🌕
With the ability to transport and deploy modular payload, our FLEX rover transported
@NASAJPL
's Axel rover during a multi-day field test to highlight a robotic solution for exploring challenging terrains on the Moon and Mars.
Read to learn more:
Our CEO, Jaret Matthews, spoke to Forbes about how we are contributing to NASA's Artemis missions with our FLEX rover and its modular payload capacity that enables versatility for crewed and uncrewed operations on the Moon. Read more:
Soooo coool to visit our friends
@Astrolab_Space
and testing FLEX. Thank you Jaret for the tour. Soon 🚀 FLEX will carry our payload and bring some green 🌱on the surface of 🌕 - robot gardener 🦾🌱😍✨
Our team at Astrolab continues to be inspired not just by Armstrong's giant leap, but the entire journey that he made with Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin. That journey was only possible because of years of work by
@NASA
. Together, they made history and ushered in a new era of…
Last week, we had the opportunity to exhibit our FLEX rover at the Space Economy Summit and to discuss the journey into the future of space exploration, innovation, and collaboration. 🌕
Thank you to everyone who visited our booth and engaged with us during the summit. The…
Astrolab Collaborates with Student Teams for ISRU Design Projects | Two student teams
@ucsantabarbara
and
@uprm
developed FLEX-centric In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) payloads and mission concepts for the Moon and Mars.
Read the story here:
Today we celebrate
#InternationalMoonDay
in recognition of the historic Apollo 11 mission on this day in 1969. When astronauts land back on the Moon, they will need a versatile vehicle to traverse across the lunar surface. Our FLEX rover is uniquely designed to do that and more!
Astrolab is honored and excited to join the list of companies that have the privilege of hosting Patti Grace Smith Fellows next summer. Please consider applying!
Next summer, a Patti Grace Smith Fellow will work at
@VenturiAstrolab
, helping make commercial planetary rovers for the Moon and Mars to extend and enhance humanity’s presence in the solar system!
Thanks for taking
#FLEX
for a spin
@rookisaacman
! We can't think of a better person to drive it on the Moon for the first time, so just let us know when you're ready!
Really enjoyed meeting so many incredible visionaries, entrepreneurs and aerospace & mobility leaders at Up.Summit2022. Between eVTOL & space tech the future looks promising. It was also great L-39 flying and got my ‘lunar rover’ test drive🤙 thanks
@UPPartnersVC
@Astrolab_Space
Parents, PLEASE make sure to check your kid’s candy! We just found a highly dexterous, 2.4-m long lunar robotic arm inside a
@MoonPie
🤫 More details coming soon… 🌕
Did you know that over 100 missions are expected to launch in the next decade? It's a testament to the incredible advancements in technology and the decreasing cost of rocket launches and spaceflight.
We're on a mission to establish a permanent and self-sustaining base and economy on the Moon. This is not just a dream; it's a tangible goal. FLEX will build a future where humans live and work on the lunar surface, harvesting resources and building the Lunar economy.
Had a great conversation yesterday with folks from the Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy (OTPS)/
@NASA
about technical, regulatory, and policy challenges that we face along with the broader space industry.