Monaco-based company Venturi Astrolab has announced that it has signed a contract with SpaceX to send its rover, FLEX, to the moon with SpaceX’s giant rocket, Starship. The mission could take place as early as mid-2026, Astrolab said in a press release.
According to Astrolab, this is SpaceX’s first contract involving the transportation of materials to the moon in the future. Astrolab’s Flexible Logistics and Exploration (FLEX) is a rover designed to transport astronauts and materials on the moon’s surface when humans establish a permanent presence there. Astrolab writes in a press release about FLEX:
Upon completion of this mission, Astrolab’s FLEX will become the largest and most capable rover to ever travel to the Moon. With a maximum combined rover and cargo mass of more than two tons, the FLEX rover is nearly three times the mass of its largest predecessor. This increased capacity provides significantly more opportunities to conduct scientific experiments and commercial endeavors on the lunar surface.
Astrolab is a subsidiary of Venturi Group. Other companies within the Venturi Group have previously developed, among other things, an electric polar vehicle for exploration in Antarctica, as well as the electric vehicle Venturi Eclectic whose battery can be charged by both solar and wind power.
Below is a video clip of Venturi Astrolab’s FLEX as well as some additional images.
