LunaGrid is the first-ever commercial power service for the lunar surface. It will enable space agencies, companies, and nonprofit systems to survive the lunar night and operate indefinitely on the Moon.
LunaGrid can generate and distribute power by the watt to landers, rovers, astronaut habitats, science suites, and other lunar surface systems that require substantial, uninterrupted power. Designed to survive well beyond lunar night conditions (as low as -220 degrees C) and deliver power to lunar assets, LunaGrid will enable multi-year human and robotic operations on the Moon’s surface.
LunaGrid can distribute power to diverse lunar assets by leveraging Astrobotic’s existing technologies. By making use of our landers and rovers as well as our Vertical Solar Array Technology (VSAT), the service is more immediately deployable, scalable, and more economical than long-lead solutions like nuclear power. Astrobotic aims to deploy LunaGrid to the lunar south pole as early as 2026.
LunaGrid makes use of Astrobotic's existing landers, rovers, and wireless chargers as well its Vertical Solar Array Technology (VSAT), which is in development at Astrobotic in concert with NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. The first LunaGrid will fly to the Moon on a single launch vehicle and land using an Astrobotic lunar lander, where it will deploy its VSAT to begin generating solar power. This power will be distributed via wireless chargers and tethered CubeRovers, bringing VSAT-generated power to surface assets. Each VSAT will include the transformers and power management systems needed to extend power capabilities beyond the VSAT itself and into a fully fledged power grid.
LunaGrid systems can be delivered on a single Griffin lander and placed at multiple locations at the poles of the Moon. LunaGrid can also be scaled over time, increasing the service coverage with additional VSATs, and incorporating other power source types in the future. Astrobotic plans to leverage these capabilities to provide power to NASA’s Artemis program, decadal-class science missions, CLPS missions, international space agency missions, and commercial businesses.