Audi lunar quattro

The sky is no longer the limit as Audi prepares for a mission to the moon.

Audi is supporting the project and the development of the vehicle which will be known as the Audi lunar quattro, with its expertise in the areas of lightweight construction, e‑mobility, quattro permanent all‑wheel drive and piloted driving.

24 October, 2015

Audi is set to journey to the moon as the company provides critical technical support to a private lunar mission. Working with a team of German and Austrian engineers from the Part-Time Scientists team, Audi is providing its technical know-how in a number of areas including robotics, piloted driving and quattro all-wheel drive for the unmanned lunar rover.

The ‘moon shot’ is being conducted as part of the Google Lunar XPRIZE competition, a $US30 million competition to ‘challenge and inspire engineers and entrepreneurs from around the world to develop low‑cost methods of robotic space exploration’. In order to win, a team must successfully land a robot on the moon and explore at least 500 metres of the surface, transmitting hi-resolution video and images back to Earth.

Made largely of aluminum, the lunar vehicle has been extensively tested in the Austrian Alps and Tenerife and features an adjustable solar panel that captures sunlight and directs it to a lithium‑ion battery. The battery in turn feeds four electric wheel hub motors that propel the vehicle with a theoretical top speed of 3.6km/h. Speed though will not be a factor, rather stability on the harsh surface and reliability in the tough conditions where temperatures can fluctuate by up to 300 degrees Celsius. Capturing the critical images and data, a head at the front of the vehicle carries two stereoscopic cameras as well as a scientific camera that examines materials.

“The concept of a privately financed mission to the moon is fascinating,” says Luca de Meo, Audi Board Member for Sales and Marketing. “And innovative ideas need supporters that promote them. We want to send a signal with our involvement with the Part‑Time Scientists and also motivate other partners to contribute their know‑how.”

The Audi Concept Design Studio in Munich is working on the Audi lunar quattro to ensure the optimum lightweight construction and the company is also providing assistance in testing, trials and quality assurance.

The Part‑Time Scientists team was founded by Robert Böhme in 2008 and is made up of around 35 current engineers from Germany and Austria. The team is working with experts from three continents including former leading NASA employee Jack Crenshaw from Florida. Supporters of the group, in addition to Audi, include numerous research institutions and high‑tech companies including NVIDIA, Technical University of Berlin, the Austrian Space Forum (OeWF) and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR).

The countdown is already on, with the rocket that will transport the lunar vehicle with the Audi lunar quattro set to launch in 2017/18. The 380,000 kilometre trip should take five days to reach the target landing area which is north of the moon’s equator. The exact landing site is near that of the 1972 Apollo 17 mission, NASA’s last manned mission to the moon.

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Audi lunar quattro

The sky is no longer the limit as Audi prepares for a mission to the moon.

Split personality

The last lap

New electric era begins

Pioneers