--- title: Astrolab’s upcoming rover will run the first LLMs on the... description: Astrolab's FLIP lunar rover, slated to head to the moon as early as November 2026, will carry the first computer to run large language models on the moon's... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/astrolab-s-upcoming-rover-will-run-the-first-llms-on-the-moon-rqdtdovty twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Astrolab’s upcoming rover will run the first LLMs on the moon | daily.dev og:description: Astrolab's FLIP lunar rover, slated to head to the moon as early as November 2026, will carry the first computer to run large language models on the moon's... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/astrolab-s-upcoming-rover-will-run-the-first-llms-on-the-moon-rqdtdovty og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/RQdtDovTY.png og:image:alt: Astrolab’s upcoming rover will run the first LLMs on the moon og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Astrolab’s upcoming rover will run the first LLMs on the moon **[MIT Technology Review](https://daily.dev/sources/technologyreview)** · 6 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Astrolab's FLIP lunar rover, slated to head to the moon as early as November 2026, will carry the first computer to run large language models on the moon's surface. The 480-kilogram rover includes an HPE Spaceborne-4 edge computer with a 64-bit CPU and GPU, a computer that can run large numbers of computational tasks in parallel. Custom LLMs will analyze camera and lidar data for navigation and distill insights to reduce the data sent back to Earth. HPE previously ran Meta's Llama 3.2 on the ISS via Spaceborne-2 and Spaceborne-3 as part of the Space Llama initiative, and the computers each completed a run of more than two years on the ISS. The mission is planned to last 10 days. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What computer will run LLMs on the moon aboard Astrolab's FLIP rover? HPE's Spaceborne-4 edge computer, featuring a high-performance 64-bit CPU combined with a GPU for parallel computation, will run custom-built LLMs aboard Astrolab's FLIP lunar rover. This is a major step up from NASA's Curiosity and Perseverance rovers, whose space-hardened computers are comparable to late 1990s laptops. The mission is planned to last 10 days near the lunar south pole. _Developers tracking edge AI hardware advances follow stories like this one on daily.dev._ ### Has anyone run a large language model in space before? Yes, HPE's Spaceborne-2 and Spaceborne-3 computers ran Meta's Llama 3.2 aboard the International Space Station as part of the 'Space Llama' initiative, helping astronauts streamline research and speed up decision-making. Launched in 2021 and 2024 respectively, both computers completed runs of more than two years each, exceeding initial expectations for reliability in orbit. _Anyone curious how LLMs perform in extreme, resource-constrained environments can follow this on daily.dev._ ### Why does AI autonomy matter for Mars and moon rovers instead of relying on ground control? Communication delays make real-time ground control impractical at long distances; the time delay to Mars can reach up to 20 minutes, according to HPE chief scientist Mark Fernandez, who noted that the Soviets lost two rovers in the past due to operator errors caused by such delays. On-board LLMs could let rovers make navigation decisions locally and transmit distilled insights rather than raw data. _Engineers weighing autonomy versus remote control trade-offs can track this debate on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [IBM and NASA release an open-source lunar foundation model](https://daily.dev/posts/ibm-and-nasa-release-an-open-source-lunar-foundation-model-riubtqqnl) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Exploring the Moon will require rovers that can think for themselves – an upcoming NASA mission will test whether they can](https://daily.dev/posts/exploring-the-moon-will-require-rovers-that-can-think-for-themselves-an-upcoming-nasa-mission-will-o1x4yf3y3) · Robohub · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Driving On The Moon At A Blistering 11.6 MPH](https://daily.dev/posts/driving-on-the-moon-at-a-blistering-11-6-mph-6gqlix6u1) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Thermodynamic Computing Slashes AI Image Energy Use](https://daily.dev/posts/thermodynamic-computing-slashes-ai-image-energy-use-phikdpyia) · IEEE Spectrum · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#llm](https://daily.dev/tags/llm), [#robotics](https://daily.dev/tags/robotics), [#edge-computing](https://daily.dev/tags/edge-computing) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/astrolab-s-upcoming-rover-will-run-the-first-llms-on-the-moon-rqdtdovty) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Astrolab’s upcoming rover will run the first LLMs on the moon","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/astrolab-s-upcoming-rover-will-run-the-first-llms-on-the-moon-rqdtdovty","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/astrolab-s-upcoming-rover-will-run-the-first-llms-on-the-moon-rqdtdovty"},"datePublished":"2026-10-20T20:25:56.572Z","dateModified":"2026-10-20T20:31:00.447Z","description":"Astrolab's FLIP lunar rover, slated to head to the moon as early as November 2026, will carry the first computer to run large language models on the moon's...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/ef0ef297f1d5736d250d37415d3ed81e?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/ef0ef297f1d5736d250d37415d3ed81e?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"MIT Technology Review","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"MIT Technology Review","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/a8d03889722f4f22b3986e0b395ff076","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/technologyreview"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/astrolab-s-upcoming-rover-will-run-the-first-llms-on-the-moon-rqdtdovty","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"llm,robotics,edge-computing","timeRequired":"PT6M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"MIT Technology Review","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/technologyreview"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Astrolab’s upcoming rover will run the first LLMs on the moon"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/astrolab-s-upcoming-rover-will-run-the-first-llms-on-the-moon-rqdtdovty#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What computer will run LLMs on the moon aboard Astrolab's FLIP rover?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"HPE's Spaceborne-4 edge computer, featuring a high-performance 64-bit CPU combined with a GPU for parallel computation, will run custom-built LLMs aboard Astrolab's FLIP lunar rover. 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