One small step for man, one giant leap for an automaker" After nearly two years of planning, officials from Audi said this week that they intend to put an unmanned rover on the moon by the end of 2017?and that they’ll put it down in the same spot where the last humans explored the lunar surface, back in 1972.
More than a dozen engineers from Audi have collaborated with a German team of scientists on an entry in the Google Lunar X Prize competition to transport a vehicle to the surface of the moon, where it will travel at least a third of a mile and capture images and video.
Audi says its Lunar Quattro prototypes have undergone extensive testing over the past year. Engineers have optimized the vehicle?s all-wheel-drive power distribution, outfitted them with the brand?s e-tron battery technology, and shed 18 pounds from their initial weight of 84 pounds. With development nearing completion, Audi?s partners in the moonshot, Berlin-based group Part Time Scientists, have signed an agreement for a launch with Spaceflight, Inc., in late 2017. No specific date has been set.
In the meantime, Audi will continue to test two Lunar Quattro rovers and take part in simulations of the entire mission in the Middle East in the coming months.
While Audi?s space mission may seem downright pedestrian compared to Elon Musk?s grand plans for colonizing Mars, Audi?s exploration of space has some practical implications for its business. From both the Middle East tests and actual e...