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Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>A team at JPL packed up three small Moon rovers, delivering them in February to the facility where they\u2019ll be attached to a commercial lunar lander in preparation for launch. The rovers are part of a project called CADRE that could pave the way for potential future multirobot missions. NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nA trio of suitcase-size rovers and their base station have been carefully wrapped up and shipped off to join the lander that will deliver them to the Moon\u2019s surface.<\/em><\/p>\nThree small NASA rovers that will explore the lunar surface as a team have been packed up and shipped from the agency\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, marking completion of the first leg of the robots\u2019 journey to the Moon.<\/p>\n
The rovers are part of a technology demonstration called CADRE (Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration<\/a>), which aims to show that a group of robots can collaborate to gather data without receiving direct commands from mission controllers on Earth. They\u2019ll use their cameras and ground-penetrating radars to send back imagery of the lunar surface and subsurface while testing out the novel software that enables them to work together<\/a> autonomously.<\/p>\nThe CADRE rovers will launch to the Moon aboard IM-3, Intuitive Machines\u2019 third lunar delivery, which has a mission window that extends into early 2026, as part of NASA\u2019s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services<\/a>) initiative. Once installed on Intuitive Machines\u2019 Nova-C lander, they\u2019ll head to the Reiner Gamma region on the western edge of the Moon\u2019s near side, where the solar-powered, suitcase-size rovers will spend the daylight hours of a lunar day (the equivalent of about 14 days on Earth) carrying out experiments. The success of CADRE could pave the way for potential future missions with teams of autonomous robots supporting astronauts and spreading out to take simultaneous, distributed scientific measurements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Members](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/e1-pia26427-cadre-carrying.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nMembers of a JPL team working on NASA\u2019s CADRE technology demonstration use temporary red handles to move one of the project\u2019s small Moon rovers to prepare it for transport to Intuitive Machines\u2019 Houston facility, where it will be attached to the company\u2019s third lunar lander.<\/div>\nNASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nConstruction of the CADRE hardware \u2014 along with a battery of rigorous tests<\/a> to prove readiness for the journey through space \u2014 was completed in February 2024.<\/p>\nTo get prepared for shipment to Intuitive Machines\u2019 Houston facility, each rover was attached to its deployer system<\/a>, which will lower it via tether from the lander onto the dusty lunar surface. Engineers flipped each rover-deployer pair over and attached it to an aluminum plate for safe transit. The rovers were then sealed in protective metal-frame enclosures that were fitted snuggly into metal shipping containers and loaded onto a truck. The hardware arrived safely on Sunday, Feb. 9.<\/p>\n\u201cOur small team worked incredibly hard constructing these robots and putting them to the test, and we have been eagerly waiting for the moment where we finally see them on their way,\u201d said Coleman Richdale, the team\u2019s assembly, test, and launch operations lead at JPL. \u201cWe are all genuinely thrilled to be taking this next step in our journey to the Moon, and we can\u2019t wait to see the lunar surface through CADRE\u2019s eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rovers, the base station, and a camera system<\/a> that will monitor CADRE experiments on the Moon will be integrated with the lander \u2014 as will several other NASA payloads<\/a> \u2014 in preparation for the launch of the IM-3 mission.<\/p>\nMore About CADRE<\/strong><\/h3>\nA division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL manages CADRE for the Game Changing Development<\/a> program within NASA\u2019s Space Technology Mission Directorate. The technology demonstration was selected under the agency\u2019s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative, which was established to expedite the development of technologies for sustained presence on the lunar surface. NASA\u2019s Science Mission Directorate manages the CLPS initiative. The agency\u2019s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and its Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, both supported the project. Motiv Space Systems designed and built key hardware elements at the company\u2019s Pasadena facility. Clemson University in South Carolina contributed research in support of the project.<\/p>\nFor more about CADRE, go to:<\/p>\n
https:\/\/go.nasa.gov\/cadre<\/a><\/p>\nNews Media Contact<\/strong><\/h3>\nMelissa Pamer
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
626-314-4928
melissa.pamer@jpl.nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n2025-018<\/p>\n
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A trio of suitcase-size rovers and their base station have been carefully wrapped up and shipped off to join the lander that will deliver them to the Moon\u2019s surface.<\/em><\/p>\n Three small NASA rovers that will explore the lunar surface as a team have been packed up and shipped from the agency\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, marking completion of the first leg of the robots\u2019 journey to the Moon.<\/p>\n The rovers are part of a technology demonstration called CADRE (Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration<\/a>), which aims to show that a group of robots can collaborate to gather data without receiving direct commands from mission controllers on Earth. They\u2019ll use their cameras and ground-penetrating radars to send back imagery of the lunar surface and subsurface while testing out the novel software that enables them to work together<\/a> autonomously.<\/p>\n The CADRE rovers will launch to the Moon aboard IM-3, Intuitive Machines\u2019 third lunar delivery, which has a mission window that extends into early 2026, as part of NASA\u2019s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services<\/a>) initiative. Once installed on Intuitive Machines\u2019 Nova-C lander, they\u2019ll head to the Reiner Gamma region on the western edge of the Moon\u2019s near side, where the solar-powered, suitcase-size rovers will spend the daylight hours of a lunar day (the equivalent of about 14 days on Earth) carrying out experiments. The success of CADRE could pave the way for potential future missions with teams of autonomous robots supporting astronauts and spreading out to take simultaneous, distributed scientific measurements.<\/p>\n Construction of the CADRE hardware \u2014 along with a battery of rigorous tests<\/a> to prove readiness for the journey through space \u2014 was completed in February 2024.<\/p>\n To get prepared for shipment to Intuitive Machines\u2019 Houston facility, each rover was attached to its deployer system<\/a>, which will lower it via tether from the lander onto the dusty lunar surface. Engineers flipped each rover-deployer pair over and attached it to an aluminum plate for safe transit. The rovers were then sealed in protective metal-frame enclosures that were fitted snuggly into metal shipping containers and loaded onto a truck. The hardware arrived safely on Sunday, Feb. 9.<\/p>\n \u201cOur small team worked incredibly hard constructing these robots and putting them to the test, and we have been eagerly waiting for the moment where we finally see them on their way,\u201d said Coleman Richdale, the team\u2019s assembly, test, and launch operations lead at JPL. \u201cWe are all genuinely thrilled to be taking this next step in our journey to the Moon, and we can\u2019t wait to see the lunar surface through CADRE\u2019s eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n The rovers, the base station, and a camera system<\/a> that will monitor CADRE experiments on the Moon will be integrated with the lander \u2014 as will several other NASA payloads<\/a> \u2014 in preparation for the launch of the IM-3 mission.<\/p>\n A division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL manages CADRE for the Game Changing Development<\/a> program within NASA\u2019s Space Technology Mission Directorate. The technology demonstration was selected under the agency\u2019s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative, which was established to expedite the development of technologies for sustained presence on the lunar surface. NASA\u2019s Science Mission Directorate manages the CLPS initiative. The agency\u2019s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and its Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, both supported the project. Motiv Space Systems designed and built key hardware elements at the company\u2019s Pasadena facility. Clemson University in South Carolina contributed research in support of the project.<\/p>\n For more about CADRE, go to:<\/p>\n https:\/\/go.nasa.gov\/cadre<\/a><\/p>\n Melissa Pamer 2025-018<\/p>\n<\/a><\/figure>More About CADRE<\/strong><\/h3>\n
News Media Contact<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
626-314-4928
melissa.pamer@jpl.nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\nShare<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n