Toyota heading to the moon with Lunar Cruiser

Toyota is best known for its cars here on Earth, but it is looking out of this world for its next vehicle – all the way to the moon. 

Toyota is working with Japan’s space agency (JAXA) to produce a lunar exploration vehicle as part of its ambitions to help people live on the moon by 2040, and beyond that, Mars.

The vehicle being developed with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is called the Lunar Cruiser, with the name paying homage to the Toyota Land Cruiser sport utility vehicle.

And it won’t be long before the Lunar Cruiser becomes a reality, with its launch set for the late 2020s.

The RV-like rover will hold two people up to 14 days, allowing them to live and work inside while traveling across the moon.

The vehicle is based on the idea that people eat, work, sleep and communicate with others safely from the confines of their car. That concept can be applied to outer space too, said Takao Sato, head of the Lunar Cruiser Project at Toyota, to the AP. 

“We see space as an area for our once-in-a-century transformation. By going to space, we may be able to develop telecommunications and other technology that will prove valuable to human life,” said Sato to the AP.

Toyota describes the Lunar Cruiser’s mission as achieving sustainable prosperity and extending the reach of human activity. However, there are steep challenges the car marker will face, as lunar gravity is one-sixth of that on Earth and the moon has a complex terrain, covered in craters, cliffs and hills.  

The moon is also exposed to harsher conditions than Earth, like radiation and extreme temperatures.  

The project has already made progress though, as Gitai Japan Inc. has developed a robotic arm for the Lunar Cruiser that will aid in the exploration, inspection and maintenance of the vehicle. It will have a grapple fixture that will allow the arm to be interchangeable so it can act like a variety of different tools.  

Toyota is also planning to use hydrogen technology in the Lunar Cruiser, making the vehicle less toxic to the environment.