- Off-planet mobility company Lunar Outpost using Nvidia Jetson platform and Nvidia CUDA-X libraries for future lunar missions
- Nvidia Jetson modules will manage the command and control of the Lunar Voyage 2 rover’s LiDAR system, due to launch later in 2026
- This follows Lunar Outpost’s successful bid to design and deliver the Pegasus Lunar Terrain Vehicle to NASA
Nvidia is partnering with space economy infrastructure company Lunar Outpost to provide AI for future missions to the Moon and beyond. Nvidia’s Jetson platform and Nvidia CUDA-X libraries, powering the first generation of AI space computers, are expected to support the Lunar Outpost’s growing mission manifesto.
Everything from processing to mapping and communication will be handled by Nvidia’s edge AI supply, which is seen as the solution to the Lunar Outpost’s contribution to the NASA Artemis program for modern space exploration.
Later in 2026, the Reiner Gamma probe – the geographical “lunar vortex” feature on the Moon’s surface – will be launched, with Lunar Voyage 2 expected to be the first Lunar Outpost hardware to be implemented with Nvidia Jetson technology.
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Nvidia in the room
The Lunar Outpost is no stranger to space exploration, having helped NASA and MIT with the MOXIE project, which generates oxygen on the surface of Mars in a project that runs from 2021 to 2023. Its collaboration continues with the Reiner Gamma exploration, working with General Motors and Goodyear on their lunar rover.
“Moon missions require intelligent systems that can process data and make decisions in real time,” noted Chen Su, Head of edge AI product marketing at NVIDIA.
“Lunar Outpost uses NVIDIA Jetson and CUDA-X libraries to provide its rovers with the onboard AI computing necessary for terrain mapping, autonomous navigation, mission data processing and scientific discovery.”
Human-robot exploration
Set for launch to the lunar surface sometime in the second half of 2026 via the SpaceX Falcon 9, Lunar Outpost’s Lunar Voyage 2 will be monitored from Earth while Nvidia AI technology handles advanced autonomy and communications, as well as lunar mapping and on-board computing.
Justin Cyrus, founder and CEO of Lunar Outpost, said “NVIDIA has set the standard for advanced AI computing, and we are proud to work with them as we bring ever more intelligent capabilities to the lunar surface and build toward a lunar base.”
Partnering with Nvidia for edge AI support appears to be the first phase of some groundbreaking missions. Future Lunar Outpost off-world activities include the Lunar Voyage 3 and Lunar Voyage 5 missions, where the first human-robot exploration of another world is planned. For this, the Nvidia Space-1 Vera Rubin module will be deployed, managing real-time data, mapping and real-time video streaming from the Moon to the Lunar Outpost’s mission control.
Lunar Outpost is contracted for nine more lunar and cislunar (the area between the Earth and the Moon) missions before 2030, with Nvidia Jetson and CUDA-X libraries expected to play a role in all 10.
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