Astrolab’s FLEX Rover to be Launched on Upcoming SpaceX Mission to the Moon03.31.23FLEX rover expected to be the largest and most capable rover ever to travel to the MoonHAWTHORNE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)—Today Venturi Astrolab, Inc. (Astrolab), announced it has reached an agreement with Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) for the company to transport Astrolab’s Flexible Logistics and Exploration (FLEX) rover on an upcoming mission to the Moon. SpaceX will use the Starship launch and landing system for this mission as soon as mid2026.Upon completion of this mission, Astrolab’s FLEX 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. This increased capacity provides significantly more opportunities to conduct scientific experiments and commercial endeavors on the lunar surface. Astrolab has already signed several customer agreements to carry payloads on this mission. The company expects to release details of these agreements later this spring. FLEX is more than a rover, it’s a logistics system for missions to the Moon and MarsHistorically, planetary rovers have been custom designed for each specific mission. These missions typically have occurred around once every ten years. But with the rapid increase in launch cadence along with the significant increases in payload capacity of launch vehicles, this bespoke approach to rover design is no longer practical or efficient.That’s why Astrolab designed the FLEX rover to transport and deploy payloads in a modular system. Astrolab seeks to prove the benefits of having a highly capable and versatile rover to establish infrastructure, conduct high-priority science, and deploy technology demos and other specialized systems on the lunar surface. Astrolab plans for this rover to be the first in a fleet of FLEX rovers on the lunar surface that will accelerate the vision of creating a permanent human presence on the Moon, and eventually Mars. “Our Astrolab team has created much more than a rover for use on the Moon or Mars,” said Jaret Matthews, Founder and CEO of Astrolab. “We’ve created a logistics system that can accommodate a wide variety of cargo. We expect that that this approach will help establish a permanent lunar outpost on the Moon at a lower cost and in less time than previously envisioned. We are delighted that this contract with SpaceX will allow Astrolab to demonstrate the advantages of the FLEX rover and its modular payload system.”“Starship is designed to transport large amounts of cargo, including rovers, to the Moon and Mars for research and exploration,” said Tom Ochinero, Senior Vice President, Commercial Business, SpaceX. “Developing sustainable outposts will require lunar logistics and transportation on the surface of the Moon, like what Astrolab offers. We look forward to working with the Astrolab team to deliver their FLEX Rover to the surface of the Moon.”In addition to being able to operate FLEX on the lunar surface from Earth, Astrolab designed the vehicle to serve as an unpressurized rover for a crew of two astronauts on the lunar surface. This design is compatible with NASA’s requirements for its Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV), the rover which will be a standard component to the agency’s Artemis program long-term. Testing is ongoingFLEX is more than just a concept. Last year, the Astrolab team began testing a full-scale, fullyfunctional terrestrial prototype of the FLEX rover in the California desert. Tests included both crewed and telerobotic operations, deployment of a variety of large payloads, science operations with its robotic arm, and engineering testing of the rover’s mobility performance in challenging terrain. Testing has continued in lunar analog sites around California throughout 2022 and into this year.To learn more about Astrolab, the FLEX rover, the details of our Mission 1, and how your cargo can accompany FLEX to the Moon in 2026 – please visit: astrolab.space. About AstrolabVenturi Astrolab, Inc. (Astrolab) is on a mission to move humanity forward to the next horizon by designing, building and operating a fleet of multi-purpose rovers for all planetary surface needs. Formed by a highly specialized team of NASA veterans, former SpaceXers and JPL engineers, Astrolab is laser-focused on providing adaptive mobility solutions essential for life beyond Earth. The team has industry leading experience in terrestrial and planetary robotics, electric vehicles, human spaceflight and more. Astrolab’s depth of experience and strategic partnerships with a wide array of world-class institutions, including electric vehicle pioneer Venturi Group, enables the delivery of Lunar and Mars mobility offerings at maximum reliability, flexibility and cost effectiveness. The company is headquartered in Hawthorne, California. For more information, visit astrolab.space and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.
I know it's likely this is a rideshare, but is it actually confirmed?
Jaret Matthews, founder and chief executive of Astrolab, said in an interview that the mission, which will include 1,000 kilograms of customer payloads, will be the first flight of the FLEX rover. It will be a rideshare payload on a Starship mission landing somewhere in the south polar region of the moon.
A Starship landing on the moon in mid 2026 seems optimistic but it’s encouraging to see a growing lunar manifest.
Quote from: wannamoonbase on 04/01/2023 05:26 pmA Starship landing on the moon in mid 2026 seems optimistic but it’s encouraging to see a growing lunar manifest.Artemis III is supposed to fly in December 2025. It includes the second lunar landing of Starship HLS. The uncrewed Starship HLS demo is supposed to fly before then.If the FLEX landing in 2026 seems optimistic, then the entire Artemis program is even more optimistic.
Lunar rover developer Astrolab announced eight customers have signed contracts worth more than $160 million for its first mission to the moon in 2026.The company, formally known as Venturi Astrolab Inc., announced Nov. 21 that it signed the customers to fly payloads on Mission 1, a flight of the company’s Flexible Logistics and Exploration (FLEX) rover slated for as soon as mid-2026. Astrolab announced a contract with SpaceX in March to launch FLEX on that mission on a Starship commercial lander.<snip>Argo Space Corp., one of the customers of Mission 1, plans to fly a demonstration payload on the rover to test technology to extract low concentrations of water from lunar regolith. Astroport Space Technologies will send a payload to test how to sort lunar regolith to obtain grains best suited for producing lunar bricks as construction materials. Avalon Space will contribute an unspecified series of “science, exploration and sustainable development” experiments.Interstellar Lab will fly two small pods carrying plants that the rover will deploy on the lunar surface to see how the plants grow in the lunar environment. LifeShip will send a capsule carrying a DNA seed bank and data archive as part of that company’s effort to establish a seed bank on the lunar surface as an “off-world backup.”Three customers remain undisclosed for now, although Astrolab said in the statement those customers plan to disclose their participation closer to the launch. Astrolab is continuing to look for customers for Mission 1, noting that the FLEX rover has a payload capacity of 1,500 kilograms and a modular system for accommodating a range of payloads.
So thrilled to announce that our Mission LITTLE PRINCE to grow flowers on the Moon will fly with @Astrolab_Space on @SpaceX Starship Mission 1! Growing flower on the Moon and bring hope for a future full of life on Earth and beyond🚀🌸 #spacetech #backtothemoon
The agency has selected three private teams — led by the companies Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost and Venturi Astrolab, respectively — to develop their versions of the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV), the rover that Artemis astronauts will drive around the moon's southern polar region beginning in 2030.
Sep 13, 2024We're outfitting a Humvee to put our lunar rover's sensor package to the test! The trial will ensure FLEX is ready to drive autonomously in the Moon's extreme conditions.
The capsules elaborated by Interstellar Lab and containing the precious flowers will be deposited on the moon by Astrolab's FLEX rover, which will travel aboard SpaceX's Starship for this historic mission scheduled for 2027.
Discover BLOOM, our new BioPod designed to grow plants in a closed-loop system on the lunar surface. Crafted for #MissionLittlePrince to grow roses on the Moon with @Fondation_ASEJ, will be carried by @Astrolab_Space FLEX rover and fly onboard @SpaceX Starship in 2027.
Welcome to Astrolab’s Moonbeam Laboratory. 🌘💡Complete with blacked out windows, matte black antireflective walls, and lasers, we use this room in the Astrolab offices for testing out our cameras and sensors related to FLEX’s perception system. The tools here enable us to model the lighting conditions of the Moon across simulated lunar craters, especially long shadows created by low sun angles at the Moon’s south pole.
Jan 7, 2025As a new year begins, we're looking forward to what 2025 and beyond has in store for Astrolab, our lunar missions, and humanity as we work to help make the next giant leap in human progress - becoming a multi-planetary species.
In 2023, Astrolab announced an agreement with SpaceX to land the commercial FLEX rover on the Moon as soon as December 2026. SpaceX will transport FLEX to the lunar surface using its Starship launch and landing system, and Astrolab has agreed to a two-year launch window with SpaceX.
Apr 8, 2025A bonus of working at a lunar rover company is sometimes you get to take the rover for a spin!While driving our FLEX mockups in a dirt lot might not be as exciting as on the lunar surface, these test drives help us refine our technology and better refine the driving experience.
Jun 27, 2025 New and improved, meet the latest iteration of FLEX! Our rover has now been through years of testing as we have refined everything from its sensors to the crew stand where astronauts pilot the vehicle. We’re excited to see the rover continue to evolve into the version that will head to the Moon.
Jul 2, 2025As our FLEX rover has gone through testing, the direction astronauts pilot it has evolved. Now that the lunar dust has settled, Astrolab’s LTV Certification Lead Luke Walker is here with some background on selecting this driving setup.
Jul 8, 2025 #space #lunarterrainvehicle #AstrolabIt’s time to enter the simulation. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the simulator of our FLEX lunar rover developed by our partners at Odyssey Space Research, LLC!The setup has controls for simulating everything from rover chassis height to headlights, and provides features such as persistent rover tracks in lunar regolith and tracking of the driving path on the display.
Astrolab@Astrolab_Space#ICYMI, FLIP is prepping for a stylish dismount on the lunar surface. The first ever tests of the rover’s system for egressing from its ride to the Moon, @astrobotic's Griffin lander, were successful!The team has been working hard on not only the rover, but also this robust test fixture. By putting FLIP through situations as close as possible to what it will be experiencing on the Moon, we’re building confidence in the rover’s software and hardware. That in turn is feeding directly into our development of our larger rover, FLEX, which uses much of the same hardware and software as FLIP, including the same batteries and wheels.
Astrolab@Astrolab_SpaceFLIP is our lunar pioneer, testing out technology that will help make our FLEX rover a success! All of our FLIP rover testing here on Earth and on the lunar surface is putting Astrolab’s hardware and software through its paces.FLIP and FLEX both feature some of the same components and subsystems, such as:-avionics systems-wheel actuators-motor controllers-sensors-full-sized batteries-tires-software
AstrolabAstrolab_Space·Let TVAC testing begin!Our FLIP rover hit an important milestone today on its path to the lunar surface. Our Moon-bound rover rolled into thermal vacuum chamber testing at @ElementTesting's facility in Los Angeles. For the next two weeks, the rover will undergo tests in a variety of temperatures, ensuring hardware is ready for the conditions that await on the Moon.
Astrolab@Astrolab_Space·That moment you see the rover that went from concept to flight vehicle in just 13 months head into TVAC testing.When an opportunity to fly to the lunar South Pole on @astrobotic’ Griffin Mission One opened last year, we knew it was a “moonshot” we couldn’t pass up. The Astrolab team designed the FLIP rover to be a technology demonstration that validates as many of the core components and subsystems of the larger FLEX rover as possible, including its tires, batteries, and software. FLIP will also provide transportation for a number of commercial and government payloads.Now just over a year into the FLIP campaign, Astrolab has officially kicked off two weeks of initial thermal vacuum chamber testing! This is a huge milestone for the whole Astrolab team as we continue advancing FLIP and FLEX’s pathways to the lunar surface and beyond.
Astrolab@Astrolab_SpaceFLEX is ready to take on the lunar surface.With a 2-ton payload capacity, our FLEX rover is prepared to support the needs of the lunar economy and construct necessary lunar infrastructure. FLEX’s airless tires have survived multiple tests in environments analogous to the Moon’s harsh conditions, possessing the ability to navigate terrain up to a 26-degree slope.From serving as transport for astronauts to autonomously deploying scientific payloads to laying out cable to support power infrastructure, FLEX is flexible. Our lunar rover is up for whatever is needed to help humanity not just survive but thrive on the Moon.
Astrolab@Astrolab_SpaceWe’re ready to roll! Meet the tire that will move both our FLIP and FLEX rovers across the lunar surface.The hyper-deformable tire has 192 cables acting like spokes, 96 springs, and is made from advanced materials developed by our strategic partner @Venturi. We’re sending these tires to the Moon first on our FLIP rover to gain crucial data about their interaction with the lunar surface, ensuring FLEX is ready to drive efficiently around the Moon and survive the lunar night.
Astrolab@Astrolab_Space·Dec 24Successfully completing numerous egress tests with our FLIP test vehicle was a major milestone for Astrolab this year! Putting FLIP through situations as close as possible to what it will experience on the lunar surface builds confidence in the rover’s software and hardware.
We named our rover FLEX because it is flexible and ready to adapt to whatever is needed to build the lunar economy.While past rovers—like NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover—have been built custom for the bespoke applications needed to achieve specific mission parameters, FLEX is designed to adapt to the needs of a multitude of missions. For example, its novel mobility system gives it the ability to pick up and deposit modular payloads and attach tools that can accomplish everything from collecting samples to rolling out cables.Instead of having FLEX’s full capabilities and purpose determined at launch, new tools and payloads can be launched to a fleet of awaiting FLEX rovers on the lunar surface for many years to come, providing logistic services for customers today and in the future.
FLEX’s tires have been put through a lot over the years to make sure they will withstand everything the Moon can throw at them. From this test speeding over rocks on the back of an ATV to being cycled through extreme temperatures, our rover’s hyper-deformable airless tires developed in collaboration with strategic partner @Venturi are ready to take on the lunar surface.
Jan 18, 2026 AUSTINDuring the Everyday Astronaut’s third annual Astro Awards event, I was able to discuss a new rover design called FLIP with some of Astrolab’s employees and thought this would make an excellent short video to highlight some of the innovative technologies that may well play a big role in the long-term NASA and commercial human habitation plans on both the Moon and Mars!So, what is the Astrolab Flex Lunar Innovative Platform (FLIP) and what makes the wheel design so innovative? Why did they have to come up with a new design since we already saw lunar rovers during the Apollo era and even see rovers operating on Mars? Let’s discuss!Astrolab is a new commercial space company that is participating in the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program and is pioneering new ways to explore and operate on distant planetary bodies. We’re singularly focused on designing, building, and operating a fleet of multi-purpose commercial planetary rovers to extend and enhance humanity’s presence in the solar system.FLIP is Astrolab's technology demonstration platform that will be Astrolab’s first rover to deploy on the lunar surface, scheduled to land at the Lunar South Pole in Summer 2026 as part of Griffin Mission 1.FLIP is a key step in Astrolab’s rapid spiral development approach: design-build-test-fly cycles that demonstrate increased capabilities and incorporate lessons learned during development and qualification testing and has the capacity to bring technologies and payloads to the Lunar South Pole.One of the technologies that makes Astrolab’s FLIP rovers unique is the wheel design that takes lessons learned from the past Apollo and Mars Lunar Rover wheels and completely rethinks the overall approach with long-term, sustainable operation far more than what has been envisioned before. The technology being demonstrated with this design could well be a critical enabling capability to realize long-term habitation and operations on the lunar and Mars surfaces.I hope you enjoy this discussion about the wheel and tire designs and that you found the information helpful! Thank you for your support and for watching!Link to Astrolab for more information and details:https://www.astrolab.space/flip-rover/
