Future Moon and Mars Rover Designs

With the problem-free launch of Curiosity, it can be seen that rovers are becoming a widely used robotic technology over probes especially in terms of Mars. I'd like to show two additional rover designs that are also being researched by NASA; the Tumbleweed Rovers, and the Lunar Electric Rover.

A prototype of the tumbleweed rover was test-driven at the South Pole in 2004 where it rolled across the Antarctic for a full 8 days, covering around 70 kilometers of ground. Although on average the temperature of the environment was -30 degrees Celsius, internal heating systems kept the insides of this rover around 30 degrees Celsius. This ball is roughly 6 feet, or almost 2 meters in diameter!

The technology for the next generation vehicle for space exploration, especially made for the environment of the moon is here! The vehicle is proposed to have the lifetime of at least 10 years, where "a habitat on wheels." It is designed to be faster, more capable, and more efficient than the old lunar rover as it would allow astronauts up to 14 days of constant exploration without needing to return back to camp. The new designs that are known as "suit ports" cuts down the time for astronauts to suit up for a space walk ingeniously.  Old spacesuits require 6 hours of simply getting in and out of them for space walks alone, not counting the space walks themselves. These "suit ports" only require approximately 30 minutes, which increases exploration time for astronauts substantially and actually encourages space walks and also allows for more close inspections.
It is exciting to see so many technologies maturing that goes with the establishment of manned bases on other moons or planets. Technological advancements are occurring at such an alarming rate that last generation's dreams can easily be this generation's reality. Unfortunately, because of the constant shift in politics, NASA has been bouncing back and forth between establishing a lunar base or sending astronauts to Mars. But it won't be surprising if NASA's lunar "base" is one that's on wheels.

Like the picture shown in the above, it is likely for the first lunar bases to be mostly constructed with lunar electric rovers and perhaps made to be easily maneuverable; nothing near a full-blown establishment of colonies. But perhaps in the near future and perhaps even within our own lifetimes, with international coordination, a permanent base may be constructed on the surface of the moon!