Tbris paper examines the concept of placing a rover on the Moon as one of the first elements in the Prresident'p Space Exploration Initiative (SEI). The co:ncept, called Rover First, initially serves as a teleoperated explorer and test bed for hardware development. During subsequent manned visits the vehicle is used to provide astronauts with a shirtslepve environment and the radiation protectrion necessary for extended surface exploration. Iletween the piloted missions, the rover is controlled from Earth and continues to serve in a dual (teleoperated and piloted) mode throughout permanent base development. A method to implement an early, low-cost program based on proven systems is presented.

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