When you visit Tustin Toyota service centers like that of Toyota of Orange, you will see rows of new and used cars for sale. These vehicles are “earthly” forms of transportation. Yes, some may be hybrid or even run on hydrogen such as the Mirai, but for the most part, these automobiles are meant to be driven on any other planet than the one we call home, Earth.
That being said, Toyota knows this all too well, and one day thought about building a vehicle that can be used on a different planet. After years of research and dedication, the engineers came up with a vehicle that is “out of this world”! Yes, Toyota of Orange’s Tustin Toyota service loves a good pun!
Dealers near Tustin auto center such as Toyota of Orange have seen the first images of Toyota’s Lunar Cruiser for Japan’s space exploration agency. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Toyota are collaborating to design a pressurized space rover.
The two plan to name the vehicle the Lunar Cruiser, which pays homage to Toyota’s Land Cruiser, one of the Japanese car company’s best selling four-wheel-drive vehicles. Toyota and JAXA signed the agreement in 2019 and expect to launch the Lunar Cruiser in the late 2020s.
There is a steady trend for the future of space exploration to be conducted in public-private partnerships such as the one between Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Toyota which involves the creation of a manned, electric rover.
In March 2019, JAXA and Toyota thought it would be wise to work together to begin technological studies. Manned rovers such as the one they are working together on will have an important job in space exploration. JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa said, “the Lunar Cruiser will play an important role in full-fledged exploration and use of the lunar surface”.
Last August, Toyota, and JAXA made the concept designs of the rover public and confirmed that the vehicle’s name is the Lunar Cruiser as a reference to Toyota’s famous Land Cruiser. During 2020, the two are working on manufacturing test pieces of the design, and intend to launch by the end of the decade.
At the moment, the research that is going on consists of building and testing a prototype, which is a six-wheeled vehicle that uses fuel-cell electric vehicle technologies.
Although it’s a challenge to transport huge quantities of energy to the Moon, this type of vehicle will have an exploration range of around 10,000 km.
The fundamental test work consists of simulations to validate power and heat dissipation performance as well as the manufacture and assessment of prototype tires, and the use of virtual reality and full-scale models to think about the layout of equipment in the Lunar Cruiser’s cabin.
Toyota and JAXA nicknamed the vehicle the ‘Lunar Cruiser’ because they are building a lunar rover that focuses on quality, durability, and reliability. Essentially, the vehicle will encompass the same ethics as Toyota’s Land Cruiser. And that is all anyone wants from a lunar vehicle that has to endure the unforgiving environment of the moon’s surface.
“Having Toyota join us in the challenge of international space exploration greatly strengthens our confidence,’’ said JAXA president Hiroshi Yamakawa.
“At JAXA, we are pursuing international coordination and technological studies toward Japan’s participation in international space exploration.
“We aim to contribute through leading Japanese technologies that can potentially generate spin-off benefits. For this, we would like to concentrate on our country’s technological abilities and conduct technological studies.
“Through our joint studies going forward, we would like to put to use Toyota’s excellent technological abilities related to mobility, and we look forward to the acceleration of our technological studies for the realization of a manned, pressurized rover.’’
If you aren’t a space fanatic, then we will forgive you for not knowing that lunar gravity is one-sixth of that on Earth and the Moon has a complex terrain with craters, cliffs, and hills. Not only do astronauts and the lunar rover have to deal with these conditions, but there is also the issue of exposure to radiation and harsh temperatures, as well as a super vacuum environment.
“Manned, pressurized rovers will be an important element supporting human lunar exploration, which we envision will take place in the 2030s,’’ said JAXA Vice President Koichi Wakata.
“For a wide-ranging human exploration of the moon, a pressurized rover that can travel more than 10,000 km in such environments is a necessity.’’
“We aim at launching such a rover into space in 2029.’’
Here are a few other fun facts about the Lunar Cruiser that will already know.
- The Lunar Cruiser is 20 feet by 17 feet, 12 feet, which is roughly the size of two minibusses.
- Its interior has 140 square feet of living space, which Toyota says can fit two people.
- The design has to satisfy some very difficult requirements. For instance, it has to be able to travel on the moons’ surface for six weeks, and astronauts must be able to remove their suits safely inside.
- Its first mission is planned to comprise of 6,200 miles in 42 days.
- To get all the energy that they need for this journey, Toyota is planning to use a next-generation fuel cell, that can travel about 620 miles on one tank.
- Since days and nights on the moon last for a fortnight each, the Lunar Cruiser will also generate electricity using solar panels.
- And because the nights are long, that energy has to be stored for later use. The fuel cell can also use water from the electricity generation process for cooling and drinking water.
- Toyota is well-known for safety, and although the Lunar Cruiser is meant for space transport it will still have safety features such as automated driving functions.
Although you don’t need a Lunar Cruiser to go to work, get the kids to school, or run your day-to-errands, the Tustin Toyota service of Toyota of Orange has a few new and used Land Cruisers that are suitable for our big blue marble planet that doesn’t cost the earth!