A mockup of NASA's next generation moon rover, the Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV), on display at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The SEV has since been converted into a wheel-less vehicle designed for visiting asteroids.
The front of the SEV is dome-shaped to give astronauts a wide-angle view of their surroundings.
The bubble-fronted SEV rover version was optimized for wheeling around on the moon. The crew cabin part has lately been converted into a vehicle that can be attached to a sled for visiting asteroids.
The bottom component of NASA's Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV) can visit an asteroid by itself, robotically, or be attached to a crew cabin for manned missions.
A simple mockup of a jet thruster on the SEV sled helps engineers design a baseline look for the vehicle.
A NASA engineer works on a mockup of the sled component of the SEV spacecraft, attaching wiring onto this preliminary prototype.
This version of the SEV sled is in the very preliminary stages of development. Soon, engineers will experiment with it on an air hockey table-like floor that allows it to move without friction in two dimensions.
A mockup of the SEV crew cabin that will house astronauts on future trips to asteroids. This cabin can be attached to a robotic sled underneath it for propulsion.
The hatch to NASA's SEV crew cabin compartment.
Inside the latest mockup of NASA's SEV crew cabin, a bank of monitors stands in front of the large dome-shape windows.
A view from the back side of the crew cabin compartment of NASA's SEV spacecraft under development.
