Audi All Set To Touchdown on the Moon With Lunar Quattro Rover

Apart from making vehicles that roam the earth, Audi, since last year, has also been focused on sending one of its vehicles (rover) to the lunar surface, i.e., the moon. Yes, you heard that right. Audi has been working with a group called ‘Part-Time Scientists’ to develop a rover that can be sent to the moon. Recent tweets by the Audi Group suggest that their Lunar Quattro rover is now undergoing final testing before being sent to the moon. Further testing will happen in the Middle East where the rover will undergo simulation test for compatibility with the environment it might face 3,84,400 kilometres away from home.

Why the sudden interest in space travel, you wonder? Well, the reason is $30 million, for that is the winning amount for the Google Lunar XPRIZE project. This expedition from Google will require every drone to fulfil three steps. First, land safely on the moon; second, drive 500 metres on the surface of the moon; third, send HD images of the lunar surface back to earth. Simple, right? Since the drone being developed by Audi and the Part-Time Scientists has an electric four-wheel drive, the German automaker is calling it the Quattro/E-tron vehicle. The landing site for the drone has been set near the landing site of the Apollo 17 mission which flew back in 1972. If it is successful, we will receive some stunning HD, 3D and 360-degree images of the Apollo 17. 

Audi's contribution to the drone has made it larger in size, as it now runs on wheels and not on tracks. The 360-degree imaging is done via four HD cameras. The partnership with Audi has also made the rover lose 8kg since it is now made of lightweight materials and aluminium 3D printing. The rover will travel into space via a Spaceflight Industries rocket at the end of 2017. The makers might also use Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to shoot a pair of rovers to the moon. 

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Dr Markus Bergmann, Head of Vehicle Testing Facilities at Audi Ingolstadt, who prepared the sun simulation chamber at Audi’s technical development said, “We heat a floor panel that is covered with quartz sand to 120°C. The lights on the ceiling of our test chamber radiate heat from above with a power of 1,100 watts. Meanwhile, the ambient temperature in the chamber is –20°C. The only thing we can’t generate here is a vacuum. Needless to say, vehicles on earth aren’t subject to such extreme conditions. I’m intrigued to see how the rover will react.”