Toyota Aims for the Moon

With the Toyota Space Mobility prototype, the Japanese automaker continues its exploration of technologies that could someday take it to the Moon.

Toyota, the Japanese tycoon going well beyond automobiles, has positioned itself to produce a rover capable of carrying a crew of two astronauts. For several months now, Toyota has been testing a all-terrain prototype whose powertrain could be a precursor to the one sent in about 6 years to the Moon.

This experimental vehicle is primarily aimed at developing drive system technologies to create mobility usable on the Moon and in space. Each wheel is equipped with its own motor and steering, within the framework of specifications currently being developed to ensure safe and reliable driving, even in harsh extraterrestrial environments.

The electric motor of this prototype offers exceptional performance, allowing it to drive over rocks up to 50 cm high and ascend steep slopes of 25°. The technology developed through this prototype will be used in space vehicles such as the LUNAR CRUISER. This hydrogen-powered rover must be capable of transporting a crew of two astronauts freed from their heavy suits and protected from the deadly radiation of space. The vehicle will be able to “provide an environment similar to that on Earth (…) and protect against temperatures fluctuating between 120°C during the day and -170°C at night.” Quite an impressive thermal range!

Main features

• Length: 3,460 mm, width: 2,175 mm, height: 1,865 mm
• Number of seats: 2
• Traversable slope: 25°

READ ALSO > Toyota aims to promote hydrogen on the Moon in 2029