Team AngelicvM is a private company based in Chile that plans to deploy a small rover on the Moon. Their rover, called Unity, is one of various rovers that will be carried by the commercial Peregrine lander manufactured by Astrobotic Technology.
Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Aerospace |
Headquarters | , |
Key people | Gerardo Rocha-Haardt Jorge Vidal Mauricio Guerrero |
Products | Lunar rover |
Owner | Gerardo Rocha-Haardt |
Number of employees | 34 |
Parent | AngelicvM Foundation |
History
Team AngelicvM was created in 2010 in Santiago, Chile,[1] with the purpose to compete for the Google Lunar X Prize.[2] This international competition offered US$20 million for the first privately developed rover to land on the Moon, travel at least 500 meters, and transmit high-definition video and images back to Earth.[3] Since no team was able to make a launch attempt to reach the Moon by the 31 March 2018 deadline, the Google Lunar XPRIZE went unclaimed and the competition ended without a winner, but AngelicvM plans to go ahead with the rover's development and launch.[4]
Team AngelicvM is financed by AngelicvM Foundation (Inversiones AngelicvM); its owner and President is Gerardo Rocha-Haardt, who by 2012 has financed about US$3 million.[5] Rocha-Haardt explained that since there is no space agency in Chile, he hopes to inspire and stimulate the private sector's participation in the outer space economy.[6] Rocha-Haardt invited all Chilean universities to participate in the project. They were joined by the Universidad de Concepción and Universidad Austral de Chile, that are developing the rover.[5][6][7]
AngelicvM signed a contract with Astrobotic Technology in 2015 to have their rover carried on board Astrobotic's Peregrine lander,[2] and in July 2017, Astrobotic announced an agreement had been reached with United Launch Alliance for the launch.[8] As of May 2018, Astrobotic's first Peregrine lander mission is reported to have 12 customers,[9] and is planned to be launched in 2020[10] on an Atlas V rocket.[11] The selected landing site is Lacus Mortis.[12] The lander's commercial payload include Team Hakuto's rover.[12]
Unity rover
The first rover's concept was called Dandelion.[13][14] Its body was spherical of about 10 cm in diameter[5] with a flat top and bottom. It uses two bilateral "legged" wheels for traction and it keeps upright by a pendulum. This light traction concept was inspired on insect legs, and it was considered because that is what all insects evolved for efficient displacement on uneven surfaces.[14] Adding some flexibility to each blade/leg, it imitates the tendon in the insect leg and holds potential energy for better traction.[14] Preliminary tests performed in Chile's Atacama desert were reported to surpass their predicted expectations.[14]
AngelicvM's current rover concept is a 5 kg, four-wheeled rover called Unity.[15][16]
The team has 34 members, all professionals and mostly volunteers. Their transmission to Earth will be a high-definition music video that carries "a message of faith, hope, peace and unity to the World.[2]