Lunar Open-source Rover Standard (LORS) - Phase 1: Foundation Research#

Author: Aleksa Đurđević, Rod Mamin, Rina Faber, Roy Kahangwe
Date: 12 November 2025

Abstract#

The Lunar Open-source Rover Standard (LORS) creates a shared framework for designing, building, and operating lunar rovers—like CubeSat standards did for satellites. Every team builds rovers differently, wasting time and money. LORS changes this by researching what standards exist, mapping who's building rovers, and creating a roadmap for an open standard everyone can use.

This Phase 1 is a research—collecting all the relevant information in one place and making a plan.

When finished, anyone—from students to startups—will have a clear path to build compatible lunar rovers without starting from zero.

Problem#

Every lunar rover team reinvents the wheel (sometimes literally!). They use different communication systems, different designs, and different data formats, even when they're trying to do the same thing. This means:

• Teams waste money building the same things over and over
• Rovers from different teams can't work together or share data
• Innovation moves slowly because everyone starts from scratch
• Small teams (universities, startups, makers) have no reusable templates or proven designs to build from

Without shared standards, the lunar economy will be fragmented and inefficient—just like satellites were before CubeSat standards unified everything.

Solution#

Phase 1 delivers comprehensive research that creates the foundation for LORS. We're NOT building or writing the full standard yet—this is the research phase that tells us HOW to do that in Phase 2.

What We'll Deliver:#

1. Standards Landscape Report (10-12 pages)

• Review NASA, ESA, and ISO rover standards
• Analyze commercial frameworks (ispace, Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines)
• Identify gaps and opportunities

2. Ecosystem Mapping Document (8-10 pages)

• Profile 8-10 current lunar rover projects
• Document their architectures and approaches
• Assess 3-5 lunar delivery providers

3. Community Engagement Summary (3-5 pages)

• Results from conversations with 3-5 stakeholders
• Requirements and pain points identified
• Partnership opportunities

4. Phase 2 Roadmap (5-7 pages)

• Technical specification outline
• Resource needs for Phase 2
• Implementation timeline

How We'll Do It:#

• Desktop research of existing standards and documentation
• Interviews with rover teams and mission providers
• Analysis of technical architectures
• Community feedback gathering
• Synthesis into actionable roadmap
• Prepare for a bigger fundraising campaign needed for Phase 2

All outputs published on GitHub under:

• Documentation: CC BY 4.0 license
• Any code snippets: MIT license

Benefits#

For MoonDAO:#

• Strategic leadership: Establishes MoonDAO as a founding body of the first open lunar rover standard
• Community growth: Engages builders, engineers, and researchers worldwide through tangible lunar infrastructure development
• Credibility & visibility: Demonstrates MoonDAO's role in enabling real technical progress beyond funding
• Revenue potential: Future licensing, consulting, and training tied to LORS-compliant rover templates could generate recurring revenue

For the Space Sector:#

• Democratized participation: Makes lunar exploration accessible to citizens, students, and startups
• Reduced costs: Shared standards eliminate redundant design cycles and testing phases
• Accelerated innovation: Cross-compatibility between rovers, instruments, and lunar infrastructure drives rapid advancement
• Long-term sustainability: Lays the foundation for an interoperable, open lunar economy

Risks#

We've identified four key risks with corresponding mitigation strategies:

• Technical risk: Incomplete lunar environment data may require parameter revisions. Mitigation: Align LORS benchmarks with NASA and ESA reference datasets
• Adoption risk: Early adopters may hesitate without proven value. Mitigation: Build partnerships with universities and open-source labs
• Coordination risk: Maintaining cross-disciplinary consistency. Mitigation: Implement review boards and clear version control
• Funding risk: Future phases lacking support may cause stagnation. Mitigation: Prioritize publication, documentation, and open-community continuity to ensure survival regardless of funding

Objectives#

Objective #1: Complete Comprehensive Ecosystem Research#

Goal: Map the complete current state of lunar rover standards, initiatives, and delivery capabilities to establish a solid foundation for LORS specification development.

Key Results for Objective #1:

• Review and document relevant standards (NASA, ESA, ISO, commercial frameworks)
• Profile 8-10 active lunar rover projects with detailed architectural analysis
• Identify and assess 3-5 lunar delivery providers and their capabilities
• Publish comprehensive 25-30 page research report covering all findings
• All documentation published openly on GitHub repository

Member(s) responsible for OKR and their role:

• Roy M Kahangwe (Project Lead): Overall coordination and stakeholder management
• Rod Mamin (Technical Lead): Standards review and technical analysis
• Ekaterina Faber (Research Lead): Ecosystem mapping and delivery assessment
• Aleksa Đurđević (Documentation Lead): Report compilation and publishing

Objective #2: Establish Community Foundation and Phase 2 Roadmap#

Goal: Build relationships with key stakeholders in the lunar rover ecosystem and create a clear, actionable roadmap for Phase 2 specification development.

Key Results for Objective #2:

• Conduct substantive conversations with 3-5 stakeholders (companies, labs, or mission providers)
• Document requirements, pain points, and collaboration opportunities from stakeholders
• Publish community engagement summary (3-5 pages)
• Create detailed Phase 2 roadmap with technical scope, resource requirements, and timeline (5-7 pages)
• Present findings to MoonDAO community in town hall

Member(s) responsible for OKR and their role:

• Roy M Kahangwe (Project Lead): Strategic stakeholder outreach
• Rod Mamin (Technical Lead): Technical requirements gathering
• Rina Faber (Research Lead): Ecosystem mapping and analysis
• Aleksa Đurđević (Documentation Lead): Synthesis and documentation

Team (Table A)#

Timeline (Table B)#

Deadline for the project: 60 days after approval (Q1 2026)

Budget (Table C)#

These are fixed costs to make this project happen.

Transactions (Table D)#

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      - token: ETH
        amount: "2"
        justification: compensation for contributors time, 0.25 $ETH *4 people * 2 month
      - token: ETH
        amount: "0.125"
        justification: tools like AI, unused to be returned
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