NASA Big Idea Challenges. Project Charlotte

As a finalist in NASA’s BIG Idea Challenge, Luminosity developed a comprehensive lunar rover named Charlotte. The aim of the project was to create a rover that can collect and return samples from the depth of craters on the permanently shadowed regions of the moon. The Luminosity team utilized the Interplanetary Initiative's testing capabilities to advance the project, conducting traction testing in a simulated lunar regolith sandbox and thermal testing in a custom cold and heating chamber. The culmination of this project was showcased at the NASA 2022 BIG Idea Forum, where the ASU student team achieved the highest Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of any other finalists. This work has been submitted as part of a proposal for NASA’s LuSTR23 - a $2M funding opportunity to help advance Charlotte by developing a multi-rover team to overcome the challenges of exploring lunar surfaces.