Lunar Open-source Rover Standard (LORS) - Phase 2

Author: Rod Mamin, Rina Faber, Stefan Aleksa Đurđević Date: 21 January 2026

Abstract

According to the MoonDAO roadmap the organization should start designing Lunar Settlement this year. Rovers are major elements of it.

No unified standards for lunar rovers exist. By supporting this initiative, MoonDAO fulfills its mission and establishes itself as a leader in lunar exploration.

The standard should cover all the aspects of rover design, from the physical interface to the software stack.

Rover projects can realize immediate benefits by adopting specific components of the standard, such as command protocols, even without full implementation.

To succeed we need to form a global collaboration and adopt the standard. To secure the necessary resources, we plan to leverage the MoonDAO launchpad.

Phase Two focuses on preparing for a launch via the MoonDAO launchpad, formalizing community development processes, and establishing the initial draft of the standard.

Feedback based on Senate

Competitive Analysis & Unique Value

There are no existing standards for Lunar Rovers. LORS is not competing with existing aerospace standards—it is complementary to them:

Standard/Framework	Scope	LORS Relationship
CCSDS (Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems)	Data systems, communication protocols	LORS will reference CCSDS protocols where applicable for data exchange
NASA/JPL Internal Standards	Proprietary mission-specific designs	LORS provides an open alternative for non-NASA missions and commercial providers

Our unique value:

Open-source & vendor-neutral: Unlike proprietary standards, LORS is community-governed
Lunar-specific: Tailored for lunar environment constraints (dust, thermal, radiation)
Practical synthesis: We are not inventing from scratch—we are formalizing de facto standards already emerging from CLPS missions (Peregrine, Griffin, Nova-C, Hakuto-R)

Projects can use some parts of the standard (e.g., command protocols, power interfaces) even without full implementation.

Funding Model

The objective is to establish a consortium of industrial and academic partners to co-develop the standard. Initial funding from MoonDAO will accelerate this formation, eventually transitioning to a DAO-governed framework for long-term sustainability.

Why MoonDAO grant vs. traditional consortium?

A traditional consortium requires 6-12 months of formation before any work begins
MoonDAO funding enables immediate execution while consortium partnerships develop in parallel
LORS aligns directly with MoonDAO's mission and strategic roadmap
Launching via MoonDAO Launchpad provides a path toward financial sustainability for both LORS and the DAO

Phase One Post-Mortem

As per Senate request we provide a post-mortem analysis of Phase One.

Timing of Deliverables

We underestimated amount of time spent on setting up the project and training contributors.

Challenge	Root Cause	Solution Implemented
Git/GitHub onboarding	Contributors from non-IT backgrounds	Created step-by-step onboarding guide; core team now proficient
AI-native workflow adoption	New tooling (Cursor, Antigravity, Skills)	Developed internal training materials; workflow now documented in repository
Timeline slippage	Underestimated learning curve	Built 2-week buffer into Phase 2 timeline; reduced scope to essential deliverables

Communication issues

We had technical issues with setting up Streamyard as well as attending all the townhalls due to timezone (for most of the team calls happened at late night)

Solution: Streamyard is set up. As project updates happens on monthly basis it's much easier to attend now (even at late night)

Phase One Deliverables

In phase one we've:

We built a comprehensive open-source database of lunar landers, rovers, and missions—extracting technical specifications from official Payload User Guides and structuring them for analysis. We produced four technical reports covering ecosystem mapping, standards gaps, and architecture analysis.
Iterated over the structure of the repository and shifted towards AI-native workflow (based on Skills)to enable scalable community contributions without deep technical training.
2 video interviews + 2 written conversations with rover project representatives

Deliverables:

Problem

Without standards every rover mission reinvents the wheel, leading to high costs and redundant engineering.

Rover designs are dictated by landers and de facto lots of subsystems(like communication subsystems, power connectors, data protocols) are the same across different providers. It means that it's already de facto the standard.

We propose to formalize it as a standard for rovers that will be used by MoonDAO and other organizations.

The hardest part is the adoption of the standard by industry. It requires a lot of resources. We plan to address that by utilizing MoonDAO's launchpad.

With enough resources we will be able to form a global collaboration and adopt the standard.

Solution

LORS (Lunar Open-source Rover Standard) acts as the interoperability layer between rover builders and lander providers.

Standardize: We define a common interface.
Open Source: We provide open-source reference designs and software stacks that implement this standard.
Community-Led: We utilize a decentralized governance model to ensure the standard remains vendor-neutral and evolves through global community contributions, preventing proprietary lock-in and accelerating innovation through shared ownership.

Benefits

For MoonDAO:

Launchpad Utility: Validates MoonDAO's launchpad with a high-profile, real-world utility project
Ecosystem Growth: Attracts engineers and students into the MoonDAO
Strategic Leadership: Establishes MoonDAO as the founding body of the first open lunar rover standard

For the Space Sector:

First Standard: Provides the first open, non-proprietary "USB for Rovers" standard
Reduced Costs: Shared standards eliminate redundant design cycles and testing phases
Global Collaboration: Encourages international collaboration and knowledge sharing

Risks

Risk 1: Adoption Inertia

Risk: University teams and startups may be reluctant to adopt LORS v0.1 due to existing sunk costs in their current designs or a lack of perceived immediate value.

Mitigation:

Focus v0.1 strictly on "low-hanging fruit" interoperability problems (e.g., common software).
Offer specific bounties for "Integration Case Studies" to prove utility.
Direct outreach to teams to solicit early feedback.

Risk 2: Quality Control on Community Contributions

Risk: Opening development to community bounties (data collection, specs) carries the risk of inconsistent, low-quality, or unverifiable submissions, leading to a "messy" standard.

Mitigation:

Establish strict "Pull Request" adoption guidelines and review processes.
Assign Core Maintainers (Rod, Rina) to final sign-off on all merged standards.
Implement automated validation checks for data submissions where possible.

Risk 3: Launchpad Dependency

Risk: The "Service DAO" launch is dependent on MoonDAO's launchpad readiness and broader market conditions, which are outside the LORS team's control.

Mitigation:

Decouple technical milestones (v0.1 Standard) from the token launch timeline.
Ensure the standard creates standalone value (open-source assets) that persists regardless of launch timing.
Maintain open lines of communication with the MoonDAO core team to align schedules early.

Objectives

Objective #1: Preparations for Launch on the Launchpad

Key results for Objective 1:

Draft of the Whitepaper
Draft of the launch plan on the launchpad

Member(s) responsible for OKR and their role:

Rod Mamin - draft, tokenomics, management
Rina Faber - review, represent