According to Space News on the 25th, due to ongoing disagreements over certain cooperation terms, American defense giant Lockheed Martin has withdrawn from the lunar rover development project.
Lockheed Martin was collaborating on this project alongside partners like General Motors and Goodyear, with "Lunar Outpost" serving as the main contractor. This lunar rover is part of NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon.
Recently, Justin Cyrus, CEO of Lunar Outpost, confirmed to Space News that Lockheed Martin has exited the project due to unresolved cooperation terms. On the 26th, Lockheed Martin issued a statement attributing its withdrawal to strategic planning decisions. Both parties have remained tight-lipped about the specifics of their disagreement, with Cyrus only noting that "there were some unresolved issues."
Raytheon Technologies has now taken over Lockheed Martin's responsibilities in the project. They have already coordinated with the other partners to replace any proprietary content initially belonging to Lockheed Martin.
Interestingly, Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin have a close relationship. In August 2016, Lockheed Martin split its Information Systems & Global Solutions division, which then merged with Raytheon Technologies. Both companies continue to collaborate across multiple domains.
Raytheon Technologies' merger announcement
