Lunar Rover Initiative

By David Wettergreen, Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute, Posted 03/24/10

Link: http://www.frc.ri.cmu.edu/projects/lri/scarab/index.html

"The Lunar Rover Initiative is developing Scarab to evaluate and demonstrate a combined drilling and science rover platform for lunar exploration. Scarab needs to be able to withstand extreme temperatures, perpetual darkness, and intermittent communications to explore polar regions of the moon in order to survey sites and understand resources for future science and exploratory missions. Working for nearly a decade to develop feasible mission concepts and validate technologies in extreme environments here on Earth, we are experienced, skilled, and dedicated to the vision of lunar exploration."

These kind of academic/commercial lunar rovers than can drive, drill, navigate and analyze are the precursors to lunar commercial applications.