Moon RACER Team Activates High-Fidelity Simulator to Advance LTV Development and Astronaut Training

New 6-DOF simulator brings lunar mobility to Earth—simulating 1/6 gravity and real-time digital feedback for NASA’s Lunar Terrain Vehicle Feasibility Assessment contract.

The Moon RACER team, led by Intuitive Machines and backed by a world-class group of partners, has added a powerful new tool to its lunar mobility development ecosystem: a 6-degree-of-freedom (DOF) driver-in-the-loop simulator delivered by teammate AVL. The simulator is operational at Intuitive Machines’ Houston facility, just down the road from NASA’s Johnson Space Center.  

Virtual Test Bed, Real Lunar Performance 

At the core of this new capability is AVL’s Vehicle Simulation Model (VSM) software—a powerful virtual development platform used by engineering and professional motorsports teams worldwide. Now, it’s accelerating lunar mobility. The Moon RACER team is actively using VSM to digitally integrate maturing Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) subsystems, including motors, batteries, steering actuators, suspension, tires, controls, and powertrain, into a single high-fidelity driving model that mimics lunar gravity and terrain. As system development matures, simulation data is replaced by physical test data and the simulator enables engineers to track the LTV development to targets without physical and costly prototypes. The Moon Racer team believes understanding system integration and performance compared to target achievement assists in the development of the LTV. Astronauts can also drive and interact with the vehicle in the same way they would in their normal operation of the vehicle and provide critical feedback required to increase mission success.

“In this way, the team can test the actual vehicle we’re building before it leaves Earth,” said Intuitive Machines LTV Lead Brett Fischer. “The team has effectively closed the loop between design, test, and astronaut feedback. We believe this early capability will assist in LTV readiness and help minimize risk.” 

For astronauts, the simulator goes beyond vehicle familiarization. Leveraging data from NASA and Intuitive Machines Phoenix Office for lunar reconnaissance, is uses terrain modeled after the lunar south pole to recreate specific mission routes, shadow conditions, and sun angles in a virtual lunar environment. It even simulates one-sixth Earth gravity by modifying driving feedback to reflect how the LTV would behave on the Moon, allowing astronauts to evaluate factors like braking behavior, suspension loading, powertrain performance, and driver fatigue.   The Moon RACER team engineers intend to use the feedback to fine-tune the vehicle’s design well before launch.  

Integrated Development Across the Entire Lunar Architecture 

NASA’s LTV Services contract award encompasses the Lunar Terrain Vehicle itself, the proposed launch vehicle, communications architecture, and the lunar lander responsible for delivering it to the Moon’s surface. As part of this award, Intuitive Machines has advanced its cargo-class lunar lander design and integrated in-house data transmission solutions, leveraging its Near Space Network Services contract to support both Direct-to-Earth and lunar data relay satellite communications.

The LTV Services contract award by NASA encompasses not just the LTV itself, but also its proposed launch vehicle, communications architecture, and the lunar lander that delivers it to the Moon’s surface. As part of the NASA award, Intuitive Machines has matured its cargo-class lunar lander design and provided in-house data transmission solutions based on its Near Space Network Services contract for Direct-to-Earth and lunar data relay satellite constellation.

As previously announced, NASA’s LTV Services feasibility assessment contract remains a competitive process. The Intuitive Machines-led Moon RACER team is one of only three vendors vying for the next phase—the delivery and demonstration mission, which NASA has indicated they plan to award by the end of 2025. 

Moon RACER Team:

Intuitive Machines |Atlas Devices | AVL | Barrios | Boeing | CSIRO | FUGRO | Michelin | Northrop Grumman | Roush | University of Wisconsin-Madsion | Michigan Technological University 

Other Moon RACER Progress:  

In under a year, the Intuitive Machines-led Moon RACER team has transformed a concept into a driving reality—guided by expert feedback aimed to provide the best one-stop-shop solution for a LTV, surface delivery, and data transmission services. Since NASA selected the Intuitive Machines-led team for one of the LTV Services Feasibility Assessment contracts in April 2024, Intuitive Machines has:

Completed a full-scale static mock-up and Crew Assessment Test & Safety Phase I with Apollo legends Charlie Duke and Harrison Schmitt, along with Shuttle-era and International Space Station astronauts in September 2024, giving Moon RACER the benefit of hard-won experience from humanity’s only lunar drivers.

Conducted field testing on the terrestrial Moon Racer mock-up at Meteor Crater National Landmark in November 2024, simulating lunar terrain and stress-testing robotic systems.   

Completed NASA Human-in-the-Loop Testing at Johnson Space Center in December 2024, where astronauts in pressurized spacesuits evaluated the Moon RACER’s mock-up controls, displays, and safety features in mission-like conditions. 

Completed Crew Assessment Test & Safety Phase II—bringing the newly improved Moon RACER back before NASA astronauts, who may one day drive it on the lunar surface.

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