On Earth, Toyota has a very famous line of vehicles known as the Land Cruiser, and in the future, it is possible that Toyota will introduce the Lunar Cruiser, designed to operate on the Moon. This is not a joke but a very real endeavor. Toyota is aiming to develop vehicles that can traverse the lunar surface.
Toyota’s Lunar Cruiser designed for the Moon.
They are collaborating with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to produce a lunar exploration vehicle as part of their ambition to enable human habitation on the Moon by 2040, and eventually on Mars.
The vehicle being developed with JAXA is named the Lunar Cruiser, inspired by the renowned Land Cruiser line. It is designed to accommodate two people for living and working inside for up to 14 days while traversing the lunar surface.
This vehicle is named after the famous Land Cruiser line.
Takao Sato, the head of the Lunar Cruiser project at Toyota, stated that this vehicle is based on the idea that people can eat, work, sleep, and communicate safely within a car, and the same can be achieved in outer space.
Even with the limited energy that can be transported to the Moon, the Lunar Cruiser will have a total operational range of over 10,000 km on the lunar surface.
The Lunar Cruiser will have a total operational range of over 10,000 km on the Moon.
Gitai Japan, a joint venture contracted by Toyota, has developed a robotic arm for the Lunar Cruiser, designed to perform tasks such as inspection and maintenance.
Robotic arm for the Lunar Cruiser.
Shinichiro Noda, an engineer at Toyota, expressed his excitement about the project, noting that it is an extension of Toyota’s long-standing mission to serve customers, while also mentioning that the Moon could provide valuable resources for life on Earth.
He stated: “Taking cars to the Moon is our mission.”
It won’t be long before the Lunar Cruiser becomes a reality, as Toyota plans to launch it by the end of this decade.
