NASA to Test New Lunar Vehicle in Washington State

To the average damp Seattle dweller, life in eastern Washington's Moses Lake--complete with rodeos, farms, and arid landscape--may very well seem like a different world. But NASA believes that Moses Lake and its surrounding landscape better mimics life on the moon. That's why NASA has decided to test a prototype of a lunar vehicle near Moses Lake this summer.

NASA will be testing the Chariot, a one-ton lunar truck, the first two weeks of June near the Grant County ORV Park. After looking at spots throughout the country, NASA decided on Moses Lake because the sand surrounding Grant County is somewhat similar to the lunar surface.

If the test run goes well for the Chariot, NASA hopes to use the truck during construction of a lunar outpost. NASA is currently planning and testing equipment for a mission to build the first human structure on the moon. As science fiction as it sounds, NASA hopes to have the first astronauts for this mission on the moon in just over a decade, by 2020.

Photo courtesy of Moses Lake, WA Flickr Pool contributor marshall alsup