Toyota has been a benchmark in the automotive world for several decades. Now, the Japanese company will take its quality… to the Moon.
The company works on the manufacturing of Lunar Cruiser (BLC), a space vehicle to face the conditions of our natural satellite. It is expected to be active for missions in 2029.
It is part of the Artemis Program, which will take the first woman and the next man to the satellite this decade. JAXA, the Japanese aerospace agency, actively collaborates with NASA.
Toyota’s interest is “to offer the best possible user experience, great driving performance and automated off-road capability,” he points out in his statement introducing the vehicle.
“As we tackle many different aspects along the way, each one seems like a separate project, but I think that, deep down, “It is always about pieces that are interconnected,” says Shigeki Terashi, director and executive member of Toyota.
Toyota’s Lunar Cruiser features key features that will make it a safe vehicle for the Moon:
- Prevention system overturning on the surface.
- Navigation with radio signal.
- Route generation safe for circulation.
- Intuitive control of the direction (Artificial Intelligence), using cameras and LiDAR sensors.
- Driving assistance with an overlay screen.
- Interior design that conveys a feeling of spaciousness, with capacity for a crew of between two and four members.
This Toyota lunar vehicle will also have a regenerative fuel cell, to survive the long nights of the natural satellite.
To do this, it will use the electrolysis of water, producing high efficiency hydrogen with sunlight to have energy at night.
For its part, the tires will be developed by Bridgestone Corporation, made of metal.
All the cutting-edge technology so that the Artemis Program achieve your goals.