Arizona State University has received approval on funding for a NASA Planetary Mission Concept Study. The concept, called “Intrepid,” is a robotic rover designed to travel long distances and to perform long-duration investigations of the composition, physical properties and space environment of the moon.
The proposal is for Intrepid to investigate hundreds of major and minor scientific sites. It’s also being designed to perform multiple scientific duties for the team, including an inventory of rock diversity, improving the understanding of lunar volcanism, determining the origin of localized magnetic fields, investigating craters, demonstrating dust-mitigation strategies and measuring radiation for future explorers.
– Karin Valentine, ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration