Back in March, the Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency, or JAXA, teamed up with Toyota in its quest to send humans
to the moon, because, in order to achieve its goals, it needed a manned
pressurized lunar rover. The design would utilize a fuel cell electric
powertrain, offering a total lunar-surface cruising range of more than 6,200
miles (10,000 km), which is pretty amazing given the limited amount of
energy/resources you can transport to the moon during the crew’s flight there.
JAXA VP Koichi Wakata previously stated
that his agency would like to put a rover into space in 2029, with lunar
exploration missions taking place in the 2030s. Of course, you can’t send a
vehicle to the moon without giving it a moniker, which is how the Japanese
carmaker landed (pun intended) on Lunar Cruiser. This name was chosen because
of the familiar feeling it offers the people involved in the project, as well
as the recognition it will get from the general public thanks to it referencing
Toyota’s Land Cruiser rugged SUV.
The Lunar Cruiser will have to tackle
terrain that consists of craters, cliffs and hills and withstand radiation and
temperatures that are much more harsh than anything on Earth. We already know
that it’s going to measure 6 meters in length, 3.8
meters in height, with a 13 cubic meters living space and will
be able to take on two people on a regular basis, or four in an emergency
situation.
Toyota and JAXA have also been discussing
the possibility of a lunar-based future society pioneered by the Lunar Cruiser.
These meetings focused on how the rover would become the starting point for a
lunar surface-based establishment, as well as all the challenges with creating
such a society.
