NASA's Chariot is the first prototype in a new line of lunar vehicles that could someday bulldoze roads, provide entertaining lunar tractor pulls, dig trenches, and drill for minerals on the moon. And it is already proving to be nimble and powerful in earthbound testing.
Chariot, a "truck" with a top speed of about 13 miles per hour, has been tearing up the Lunar Yard, a test bed at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, since engineers there completed construction of the vehicle in September of 2007. It it capable of attaching a blade to its front, like a construction grader. Several other attachments are planned.
The Lunar Yard is a 2-acre expanse of small hills covered in a mix of sand and crushed granite designed to mimic the loose surface of the moon. I want one. Tractor pull anyone?
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