| Space Exploration Vehicle | |
|---|---|
 Artist's concept of the Space Exploration Vehicle as a wheeled rover on the Moon (left) and as a free-flying spacecraft hovering over an asteroid's surface | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | NASA |
| Also called | Lunar Electric Rover |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Rover |
| Doors | 4 |
| Powertrain | |
| Range | 125 km (78 mi) |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 4 m (160 in) |
| Length | 4.5 m (180 in) |
| Height | 3 m (118.1 in) |
| Curb weight | 4,000 kg (8,818 lb) |
The Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV) is a modular vehicle concept developed by NASA from 2008 to 2015. It would have consisted of a pressurized cabin that could be mated either with a wheeled chassis to form a rover for planetary surface exploration (on the Moon and elsewhere) or to a flying platform for open space missions such as servicing satellites and missions to near-Earth asteroids.[1] The concept evolved from the Lunar Electric Rover (LER) concept, which in turn was a development of the Small Pressurized Rover (SPR) concept.[2]
Concept vehicles of the Lunar Electric Rover (and later, the SEV) were tested during the Desert Research and Technology Studies in 2008,[2] 2009,[3] 2010[4] and 2011.[5][6][7] One of the LER concept vehicles took part in the presidential inauguration parade of Barack Obama in 2009. The chassis and structural elements of these concept vehicles were fabricated by Off-Road International.[8] Research and testing continued in 2012 in the Johnson Space Center with a mock-up of a free-flying SEV simulating a mission to an asteroid.[9]
Development of the SEV continued, producing variants called the Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle (MMSEV) and in 2013 a cabin for a possible lunar lander called the Alternate MMSEV (AMMSEV).[10]
The SEV was developed together with other projects under the Advanced Explorations Systems Program. The program's budget for FY 2010 was $152.9 million.[11]
