NASA has unveiled a next generation lunar rover which aims to facilitate astronauts in their mission return to the moon by 2020. According to NASA source, the battery powered rover travels at speeds of up to 6 mph. The latest launch is part of a range of systems and equipment being developed by NASA for its planned return to the moon in 2020.

Aiming high, NASA is trying to build a permanent manned base on the moon's surface as a prelude to subsequent exploration missions to Mars. The next generation Small Pressurized Rover Concept vehicle was tested in a rocky, barren corner of northern Arizona. The place was chosen for it is quite similar to Moon's surface.
 

The new lunar rover that has six sets of wheels is in line with the rover used by the Apollo series of moon mission in the early 1970s. In those mission astronauts in spacesuits used rovers to gather rocks from the surface of moon. Doug Craig, NASA program's manager informed that the new rover would allow a crew of two astronauts to take extended exploration trips for up to two weeks at a time.