Japan Wants to Put a Toyota on the Moon
Toyota Motor Corp. is scoping out a new frontier: lunar rovers.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is teaming up with the country's largest carmaker to build a six-wheeled self-driving transporter that can carry two humans for a distance of 10,000 kilometers. They're aiming to land a vehicle on the moon in 2029.
[...] Roughly the size of two mini buses, the Toyota-JAXA lunar rover will be six meters long and have 13 square meters of habitable space.
The rover will use solar arrays and fuel cells to generate and store power. It will land on the moon before a human expedition arrives, and drive to meet them. The project calls for the rover to be used in four other exploration areas, so it will have to move around on its own to meet arriving astronauts.
Also at Engadget.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 14 2019, @11:46PM (1 child)
This thing won't sell well if it doesn't have the amenities that people have come to expect from Japanese vehicles. You need lots of cup holders and an AV system for viewing tentacle oporn.
(Score: 3, Funny) by takyon on Friday March 15 2019, @03:26AM
That's old school. It needs to have VR headset holders and integrated teledildonics.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 14 2019, @11:48PM
Sudden acceleration will launch it right off to Mars.
Ohhh.... that's clever.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Friday March 15 2019, @03:34AM (1 child)
Is it just me, or would this become one of the largest rovers/vehicles that humans have ever landed on another celestial body?
The Apollo Lunar Module was wider than 6 meters but only had 6.7 cubic meters of usable volume. The Curiosity rover is 2.9 m long by 2.7 m wide by 2.2 m in height. This planned rover would be gigantic.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 15 2019, @02:59PM
I'm picturing something similar to the mini-bus like vehicle portrayed in the 'Lost in Space' TV series.
And from extensive research via anime, I would expect a pressurized crew cabin, with a 'changing'/storage area w/ airlock for the spacesuits.
I have not seen any proposed plans, and this is entirely speculation on my part, but this seems reasonable to expect from them.
rts008
(Score: 3, Informative) by MostCynical on Friday March 15 2019, @09:18AM (1 child)
They already know how to make things tough..
https://www.topgear.com/car-news/toyota-hilux-car-even-clarkson-couldn%25E2%2580%2599t-kill [topgear.com]
https://topgear.fandom.com/wiki/The_Smashed_Hilux [fandom.com]
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 15 2019, @08:15PM
hmm, i want one of those!
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Friday March 15 2019, @01:56PM
... What will be truly amazing is the Peak Driving charges the astronauts will have to pay on their Uber bill.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 1) by aod on Friday March 15 2019, @10:32PM
If is the same team that designed the Hilux Pickup, it will last till next century