Moon Mark, partnering with Intuitive Machines, planned a groundbreaking remote-control car race on the Moon in October 2021. This innovative project aimed to inspire the next generation by involving high school students in cutting-edge space technology design.
That's right—small remote-controlled cars were set to race across the lunar surface as early as 2021. The initiative came from Moon Mark, a startup founded in 2018 with a mission to "create experiences and content to inspire and engage as many people as possible on Earth and in space."
Following a nationwide competition with six U.S. high school teams tackling challenges like drone races, autonomous vehicles, and e-gaming, the top two teams earned the chance to design and control two vehicles on the Moon.
Moon Mark collaborated with Intuitive Machines, whose lander—launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket—was scheduled for October 2021, landing days later in the Ocean of Storms near Schröter Valley. The mission delivered 100 kg of payloads to explore the area, with the two mini-vehicles as secondary cargo.
Once deployed, the cars would connect via Wi-Fi to the lander, which relayed signals to and from Earth.
Several hurdles emerged. Controlling the vehicles over the Earth-Moon distance meant a 1.3-second delay for commands and feedback. This lag made high-speed racing tricky, especially as the event aimed to "test speed limits on the lunar surface," per Moon Mark CEO Mary Hagy in New Atlas.
No robot would mark the track; boundaries were likely predefined coordinates. The course was designed by Hermann Tilke, architect of recent Formula 1 circuits.
High school students, guided by McLaren P1 designer Frank Stephenson, would partially build the 2.5 kg cars, addressing dust filtration, traction, weight, materials, endurance, stability, and aesthetics.
Financing raised questions. Each 2.5 kg vehicle plus a 3 kg deployment mechanism totaled about 8 kg. Payload costs are steep—for reference, Astrobotic charged $1.2 million per kg for its Peregrine lander.
Moon Mark planned a live-streamed event to generate buzz and revenue.
