The Steam Deck has been spotted controlling the Astrolab FLEX rover, a NASA-backed vehicle intended to traverse the Moon’s surface.
Valve’s Steam Deck has been used in some highly creative ways. From being spotted at Disneyland controlling Star Wars droids, to being part of a truck driver’s dashboard. Now, even the frontier of space isn’t unheard of for the handheld, as the future Lunar Terrain Vehicles set to traverse the Moon could be controlled with the Steam Deck.
This month NASA hosted a news conference that announced three teams set to further develop the LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle.)
The vehicles are set to help NASA astronauts explore the moon’s surface as part of Project Artemis. Venturi Astrolab, one of the three companies awarded the $1.9 billion-worth NASA contract, posted a video to its YouTube Channel to officially announce the news, where the Steam Deck made a small cameo.
In the video, which stars astronaut Chris Hadfield, the Steam Deck can be seen in an astronaut’s hands, while controlling the Astrolab FLEX rover. While the celebratory video by Astrolab doesn’t reference the handheld by name, the Steam Deck can be clearly spotted in multiple shots of the footage.
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“We are excited that NASA intends to use Astrolab’s FLEX rover for crewed operations beginning with Artemis V in 2029, and will use the rover on prior uncrewed missions, operating FLEX remotely from Earth.”, Astrolab comments in the YouTube video description.
The prototyped Astrolab FLEX rover was originally revealed in March 2022. According to PCMag, the LTV is set to be developed over the next year, where Astrolab will be competing against Intuitive Machines and Lunar Outpost to have its vehicle chosen to traverse the moon’s surface.
Astrolab hasn’t revealed any official details about how the Steam Deck is utilized in its LTV project. Yet, if selected, the Astrolab FLEX rover, and the Steam Deck, could make an appearance on the moon in a demonstration mission.
