Toyota Shows Off Rover Design for Japanese Moon Mission

Vital for Space Exploration

The race to land humans on the moon is on once again. China of course, recently landed their Chang-e probe on the dark side early this year. That is just the preliminary step in their plan to establish a solar power station there. Meanwhile, the US and NASA announced plans to go back. Except this time they have plans to stay in order to establish a moon base.

The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on the other hand also wants to send manned missions on the moon. In fact, they have teamed up with Toyota to develop a large autonomous rover to transport their astronauts.

What Does Toyota’s Rover Design Look Like?

Toyota is now showing off their design for this machine in a short video.

It is actually much larger than one would think, equivalent to that of two mini buses with a six meter length. Inside, there is room for 13 square meters of habitable space.

Furthermore, it is pressurized inside and will have oxygen. So the astronauts can take off their suits and relax a bit.

It uses solar energy to collect power for its fuel cells. Which, according to Toyota, have a total lunar-surface cruising range of more than 10,000 km.

When Will Japan Launch Their Moon Mission?

According to JAXA Vice President Koichi Wakata, they envision the manned mission taking place in the 2030s. With the rover flying ahead of time in 2029 and will be waiting for the astronauts.