How is the new lunar rover that Japan will send in the next decade

The United States managed to put men on the moon in 1969. Russia and China have already conquered them with their robots. And even Israel is preparing to drop a spaceship on the selenite surface in mid-April.

In this space race to our only natural satellite, also the nation of Japón put his eyes and he wants to make his own step. That's why, in recent days, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has announced that it is working with the Toyota vehicle manufacturer to: develop the lunar rover of the future: a mbadive vehicle powered by fuel cells with a maximum range of 10,000 kilometers.

"Rovers lived in pressurized cabins they will play an important role in space exploration and the full use of the lunar surface, "JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa said in a statement.

He added: "Through our upcoming joint studies, we would like to use Toyota's excellent technological skills in mobility and we expect the acceleration of our technological studies for the realization of an inhabited rover. and under pressure. "

The plan, said JAXA officials, is to work on a huge pressure rover, normally equipped with two astronauts, but able to accommodate up to four people in an emergency. If the current conceptual conceptions are true, the motive will be enormous: It will be 6 meters long, 6 wheels and will measure 5.2 meters wide and 3.8 meters high. The vehicle will have about 13 square meters of living space, officials said the JAXA.

Two conceptual images show an elegant and futuristic moon car with a cabin like a nose covered with angular windows. The design of the concept shows that the mobile is equipped with headlights and floodlights (may be an intermittent signal), as well as brake lights. An image shows what appears to be a Deployable solar array to generate energy.

In comparison, NASA's non-pressurized lunar vehicles used in Apollo missions decades ago, they could house 2 astronauts (with spacesuits) and run with batteries.

These vehicles had four wheels and were 10.1 feet long (3.1 m) and 7.5 feet wide (2.3 m), with a maximum height of 3.7 feet (1.14 m). According to NASA documents, lunar mobile vehicles, as NASA called them, were battery powered.

JAXA and Toyota have been working together on the lunar rover project since May 2018. Building the equivalent of a sturdy sports utility vehicle for the moon carries challenges, officials said the JAXA.

"Lunar gravity is one sixth of Earth's, the moon has a complex terrain with craters, cliffs and hills," said JAXA Vice President Koichi Wakata in a statement. . "In addition, it is exposed to radiation and temperature conditions much harder than those of the Earth, as well as a very high vacuum environment."

The automaker said the company was delighted to develop the JAXA lunar vehicle and He emphasized that vehicle safety will be vital for astronauts.

"In addition, cars are used in all regions of the Earth and, in some areas, they play an active role as partners to make people come back alive," said Toyota President Akio Toyoda . . "And I think getting back to life is exactly what's needed in this project."

JAXA lunar vehicle projects are produced when NASA develops its own plans to send astronauts back to the moon, first with a "gateway" of the space station of the lunar orbit. This would be followed by lunar landings inhabited in 2026.

NASA chief Jim Bridenstine has repeatedly stressed that the return of the US agency to the moon will be done in cooperation with international partners.

JAXA officials have not specified that the lunar rover project would be part of their contribution to a future human mission effort on the moon, the agency said in a joint statement with its partners, S & L. Committing to participate in NASA's lunar projects.