As Moon interest heats up, two companies unveil plans for a lunar "harvester"

"Our thesis is to make the most versatile platform possible so we can serve a wide array of customers and achieve NASA's goal of being one customer among many. So we have essentially a modular approach that allows us to either pick up cargo or implements or payloads. And so in this case, the excavating equipment that Interlune is developing would basically go under the belly of the rover."

"This FLIP rover, about the size of a go-kart, is due to launch later this year on a lunar lander built by Astrobotic. It will fly atop the Griffin lander, taking the place of NASA's VIPER rover, which has been moved to another spacecraft. The mission will therefore be a learning exercise for both Astrolab, in testing out its software and other features of a small lunar rover, as well as Interlune."

Interlune and Astrolab are collaborating on lunar exploration missions using two rover platforms. The FLIP rover, a go-kart-sized prototype, will launch later this year on Astrobotic's Griffin lander equipped with Interlune's multispectral camera to measure helium-3 concentrations in lunar regolith. This mission serves as a testing ground for both companies—Astrolab validates rover software and features while Interlune verifies helium-3 data previously estimated from Apollo samples. Astrolab is simultaneously developing FLEX, a minivan-sized rover with a horseshoe chassis capable of carrying 3 cubic meters of payload. FLEX's modular design accommodates scientific instruments, astronaut transport, equipment movement, and specialized tools like Interlune's excavating equipment, positioning it as a versatile platform for multiple lunar customers.

Read at Ars Technica