"Bill Bogen" wrote in message
m...
Are any back-up rovers available (US, UK, whatever) that might be
tweaked slightly (ex; made teleoperable) and sent to the Moon to, say,
explore possible lava tube sites for future colonies? Obviously, even
if one is available, we still need to develop a lander that can carry
it down, since using a Mars aerobraking system is not an option!

Well, the designs are available at least (Spirit). But power systems would
have to be modified to cope with the long lunar night. Insulation systems
may also need work.

NASA needs to put out a request as soon as possible for a cheap rover
mission with a preferable cost of less than US$50million. Keep it small,
keep it simple, but give it the ability to carry a suite of instruments at
least as capable as the athena science package. NASA should use a company
that is not neccessarily Boeing or Lockheed. Transorbital or Spacedev may
prove capable.

Nathan