Leidos Joins NASA’s Lunar Terrain Vehicle Team As Lockheed Martin Departs

Lunar Outpost, a Colorado-based company that is part of NASA’s Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) Services program, has added Leidos to its Lunar Dawn team after a split with Lockheed Martin. The company is one of three, alongside Astrolab and Intuitive Machines, that NASA awarded contracts earlier this year to design lunar rovers for future Artemis missions.

Lunar Outpost announced that Leidos, a leading defense, aviation, and biomedical research company, has joined its Lunar Dawn team. Leidos will contribute its expertise in human factors, mission assurance, and systems engineering, playing a key role in shaping the rover's design.

“Astronaut safety is our number one priority when building our vehicle, and we are thrilled to have the industry leader in human-centered design on our team.” - Forrest Meyen, Program Manager for Lunar Dawn at Lunar Outpost

Other members of the Lunar Dawn team include General Motors, Goodyear, and MDA Space, all of whom are contributing specialized technology and systems expertise to the project. Noticeably absent, however, is Lockheed Martin, once listed as Lunar Outpost’s “principal partner” when the company first secured the NASA contract in April.

Justin Cyrus, CEO of Lunar Outpost, has confirmed that Lockheed Martin is no longer involved in the project. The companies could not come to an agreement over the terms and conditions for the contract’s statement of work.

“We just weren’t able to reach an agreement as we were negotiating the terms and conditions of the statement of work for this contract,...We still think that Lockheed Martin is a great company. However, it wasn’t a good fit for us or them to work together as a part of this contract.” - Justin Cyrus, CEO of Lunar Outpost

“We are no longer a part of the Lunar Dawn team as withdrawing made the most sense for our business and strategy. Over the last three years, we have invested significant resources to develop lunar mobility technology.” - Lockheed Martin Statement

The aerospace giant, known for its lunar mobility research, will now focus on refining its own Lunar Mobility Vehicle (LMV) and determining how it can contribute to the growing lunar economy.

The decision to part ways happened about three months ago, although the companies chose not to announce it publicly until the new partnership with Leidos was finalized. The roles initially assigned to Lockheed Martin are now being redistributed across the remaining partners, with Leidos contributing its unique set of capabilities rather than directly replacing Lockheed.

Changes to the rover’s design were inevitable following Lockheed’s departure. Lunar Outpost has unveiled new illustrations of the rover, showcasing significant design modifications to remove any Lockheed Martin intellectual property.

“This rover doesn’t have any Lockheed Martin IP in it. This is only Lunar Outpost IP,” - Justin Cyrus, CEO of Lunar Outpost

Lunar Outpost has also confirmed that the new design meets NASA’s requirements for the LTV program and that minimal rework was required as a result of the change.

Leidos had previously bid for the LTV contract, proposing its own rover design that NASA did not select. Now, as part of the Lunar Dawn team, the company is considering incorporating some elements of that earlier design into the current rover.

“There are a few things being evaluated from that previous Leidos design...It’s not out of the question that something might make its way in as we go throughout this process.” - Justin Cyrus, CEO of Lunar Outpost

Despite the adjustments to the team and design, Lunar Outpost remains on track with NASA’s contract. The company recently completed a system requirements review and a system design review, key milestones in the rover’s development process. This week, a static mockup of the rover is being delivered to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where the astronaut crew office will evaluate it for usability and interface design.

The current phase of the contract focuses on maturing the rover designs from the three selected companies to a preliminary design review level. Afterward, NASA will solicit proposals for the next phase, which involves full development and delivery of the lunar rover.

Unlike other NASA services contracts, which often select two or more companies, agency officials have confirmed that only one provider will be chosen for the LTV program’s next phase due to budget constraints.

Lunar Outpost, now backed by Leidos, is poised to advance in this highly competitive program, building a lunar rover that could help astronauts explore the Moon’s surface as part of NASA’s Artemis missions. The company’s journey forward will be marked by continued innovation and a sharp focus on astronaut safety, mission performance, and collaboration with its new and existing partners.