California Company Builds Critical NASA Rover Parts for Artemis Moon Mission

A Northern California engineering company is playing a key role in NASA's plans to return humans to the moon.

Rocklin-based Innova Product Development, founded nearly 20 years ago by Cameron Spangler, has been selected to help build critical components for the next generation of lunar rovers that are expected to support future Artemis missions.

Spangler said working on a NASA project was never something he envisioned when launching the company, which has developed products for industries ranging from medical devices to aviation.

The company is building two essential subsystems for one of three lunar rovers currently under development for deployment to the moon by 2028.

One subsystem serves as the rover's communications hub, allowing onboard systems to communicate with one another. The second is a controller that continuously monitors the rover's critical systems and automatically switches to backup components if a failure occurs, helping keep the vehicle operational hundreds of thousands of miles from Earth.

Spangler said the NASA project has created opportunities for growth, and the company plans to hire additional employees to support the work.

The lunar rovers are expected to play a major role in NASA's Artemis program, which aims to establish a long-term human presence on the moon as a stepping stone for future missions deeper into space.