Design and Development of the Telescope-deployment High-vacuum teleOperated Rover (THOR) in an Airless Body Environment

Abstract: The harsh environment on the lunar surface presents unique technological challenges for space exploration. This paper presents research on the design and development of the Tele- scope-deployment High-vacuum teleOperated Rover (THOR), currently being built and tested in the Lunar and Airless Bodies Simulator (LABS) facility at the University of Colorado Boulder. This rover is fabricated entirely out of cost-effective commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components and materials. THOR can potentially survive for more than one simulated year in conditions similar to that of the lunar environment, demonstrating the successful initial results of a first phase research study on material and electronic survivability in an extreme environment such as the Moon.