MOLEM

Mission Profile

MOLEM (Mobile Lunar Exploration Module) was a 1960s NASA concept for a large pressurized mobile laboratory that astronauts could drive across the lunar surface for multi-day geological traverses, dramatically extending the range of lunar surface exploration beyond the Apollo missions. The concept envisioned a roomy pressurized cab mounted on a wheeled or tracked chassis, allowing crew members to work without spacesuits during transit and sleep aboard the vehicle during overnight stops. MOLEM was studied as part of the post-Apollo Applications Program planning but was never funded for development, as NASA's lunar program was curtailed before such an ambitious surface capability could be realized. It inspired later concepts including the NASA Lunar Roving Vehicle studies of the 1980s and Constellation-era pressurized rover proposals.