— A once-future moon rover has rolled into a Disney theme park ride "where the thrill of the open road meets the innovation of the future."

The lunar terrain vehicle (LRV) appears in a new mural in the queue for Test Track presented by General Motors at Disney World's Epcot in Orlando, Florida. The pavilion reopened to the public on Tuesday (July 22), after being closed for more than a year to undergo its third retheming.

"The reimagined attraction [is] a celebration of humanity's ability to dream and innovate a brighter, smarter and more enjoyable tomorrow," read a Disney promo for the renovated ride.

As the title sponsor, General Motors' (GM) exhibits and displays are part of the Test Track experience, showing some of the company's current technologies and its plans for the future. Guests waiting to ride have a chance to see how GM is working with recycled and plant-based materials, as well as examples of concept cars and the company's all-electric chassis.

It is at that point in the line where Disney has added the wall-length mural of a spacesuited astronaut working on the moon beside a GM-branded rover, with another of the vehicles coming in for a landing atop a thruster-powered platform.

Although the large illustration appears to show a vision of things to come, it is more like a blast from the past. The rover is a GM and Lockheed Martin concept from 2021. The two companies worked together to develop an LTV to support NASA's Artemis program, which is aiming to return astronauts to the moon in the coming years.

"GM is a leader in battery-electric technologies and propulsion systems that are central to its multi-brand, multi-segment electric vehicle strategy, positioning the company for an all-electric future. Additionally, GM will use autonomous technology to facilitate safer and more efficient operations on the moon," read the companies' release announcing the partnership in May 2021.

Three years later, in April 2024, GM and Lockheed Martin were part of a team awarded a NASA contract to further develop an LTV. Led by Lunar Outpost, a company that specializes in lunar surface mobility, commercial space robotics and space resources, the rover's design changed, as did its partners. Lockheed Martin withdrew from the effort in October of last year.

GM stayed a part of the "Lunar Dawn" team and has adapted its technologies to support "Eagle," a more robust rover that is one of three vehicles now under consideration by NASA to be launched to the moon's south pole on an Artemis mission.

So while the Test Track mural is outdated, GM's intent to power the next vehicle to drive on the moon is current. If Eagle is chosen, it will be the second time a moon rover developed with GM's support will be driven on the lunar surface.

"General Motors made history by applying advanced technologies and engineering to support the lunar rover vehicle that the Apollo 15 astronauts drove on the moon," Alan Wexler, senior vice president for strategy and transformation at GM, said in a statement in 2021. "We plan to support American astronauts on the Moon once again."

In total three Apollo crews (15, 16 and 17) drove LRVs between 1971 and 1972.

An example of those earlier moon buggies can be seen in a different queue at Epcot. A replica of the Apollo lunar rover is on display in Mission: SPACE, next to Test Track. (When Mission: SPACE first opened in 2003, the LRV on display had been built for the Apollo program and was on loan from the Smithsonian. Several years later, it was replaced by a mockup and the authentic rover was returned to the National Air and Space Museum.)