LunaCorp Moon Rover ... will "they" allow it to get there?
Mitsubishi Investment Puts LunaCorp in Drivers Seat
by Pat Dasch & John Kross, Ad Astra Magazine, National Space Society.
Japanese motor giant Mitsubishi Corp. has put LunaCorp's privately funded "Lunar Rover Expedition" on the road to reality
by issuing a contract for LunaCorp's plan to mount a commercial mission to the moon in 1999. Launched by a Russian rocket,
LunaCorp's pair of intelligent robotic vehicles will trek 1,000 km on behalf of Earth-bound theme park visitors, corporate
sponsors and science researchers.
"The Expedition will allow direct public participation in the actual exploration," said LunaCorp president, David Gump.
"Sponsoring companies will be able to give their customers the ability to drive on the Moon by remote control and
experience lunar exploration first hand. Citizen explorers will see high-definition live video displayed on motion
platforms that reproduce the rovers' motion as they dip into craters," he added.
Despite Mitsubishi's automotive expertise, the wheeled robots are being designed by Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics
Institute headed by robot pioneer William "Red" Whittaker. One aim of the $200 million expedition is to forge links
between commercial customers and scientists who will receive access to the Moon at a fraction of the cost of traditional
government missions.
Once their wheels settle into the lunar dust, the rover duo will begin their two year journey at the historic Apollo 11
site. Although some have questioned leaving tire tracks near humankind's first footsteps on the Moon, Whittaker insists
the trundling rovers will not disturb the area. After touring Tranquility Base the rovers will set off on a 1,000 km trek
north to visit the wreck of the Ranger 8 probe and a Surveyor spacecraft. Visits to Apollo 17's landing site and lost
Soviet Lunakhod rovers are also on the itinerary.
But LunaCorp will deliver more than just a celestial travelogue. The company promises the first interactive space
exploration experience by actually leaving the driving to you - the public. Using robotic sensors to "Tele-Explore" the
Moon, visitors to Mission Control - dubbed the Lunar Expedition Pavilion - will enjoy the ultimate "E" ticket ride.
Visitors will ride with the robots on a slow-motion, roller-coaster ride over lunar hills and craters - seeing, feeling
and hearing everything the robots encounter. With a joystick in hand a few lucky tele-tourists will drive the rovers
themselves. Other visitors will joyride on motion platforms, viewing a 360-degree panorama of the lunar terrain while
actually feeling the rover's wheels crunch over lunar rock.
Currently, LunaCorp is negotiating with several established theme parks and mall developers for US theme park rights.
The company is also sitting around the table with media firms who want to beam video from the rover's moving eye to a
mass audience via television. High-profile promotional events such as a first driver contest and "Third Millenium Celebration"
are also in the works.
Scientific research will also be riding shotgun on this privately funded mission, and LunaCorp claims that negotiations
for science payloads are already underway. For a down-to-earth price of $7,000/hour researchers can purchase operational
time on the rover and focus on astronomical observations from the lunar surface, plus survey geologic structures and perform
crustal analysis. Small experimental payloads can also hitch a ride for $1.2 million/kilogram. If successful, LunaCorp's
lunar trek may pave the way for future commercial missions and give new meaning to the word "Highway". Happy motoring!
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