CC23 Super-Heavy Logistics Transport for the Moon and Mars

The goal of this challenge is to develop an innovative, low mass, super-heavy logistics Transport system that can Transport the Common Habitat as many as 5 kilometers across unprepared surface terrain. On the Moon and Mars, the Common Habitat is combined with other elements to form a surface Base Camp. In space, it is combined with other elements to form the Deep Space Exploration Vehicle. Once delivered to the surface and offloaded from its lander (offload is a separate challenge and is out of scope for this challenge) it must be lifted and manipulated to transport it from the landing site to the Habitation Zone of the surface base camp, a distance that is likely at least one kilometer, but may be as many as five kilometers across unprepared surface terrain.
This NASA challenge was to develop a super heavy surface transportation system for use on both the Moon and Mars. The system should be assumed to be deployed prior to the establishment of surface infrastructure -- in a sense it could be the first infrastructure element. It must be capable of transporting the Common Habitat, a large, monolithic payload measuring 15.6 meters in length, 8.4 meters in diameter, and massing 90 tons. This system will transport the Common Habitat a distance of up to 5 kilometers from its delivery lander to its surface outpost location. This traverse path is unprepared surface terrain with slopes up to 20 degrees. The designs needed to include an initial stowed configuration for launch and delivery to the surface as well as its operational configuration. This system must work on both the Moon and Mars. Designs also needed to address tip-over concerns and implement a solution (such as, but not necessarily, counterbalances) while remaining under its mass constraints. The technical challenge in this project will be adapting such a system to the volume constraints of a lander that will co-manifest numerous other surface elements as payloads, ensuring safe robotic operation, providing for system stability, mitigating tip over concerns, operating on unprepared lunar terrain, and manipulating the 100-ton required cargo mass.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 3) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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