JAXA's Lunar Crusier

We presently know what to charge for the crewed lunar rover being developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Toyota.

The pressurized moon vehicle, which is anticipated to set in motion in the late 2020s, has been nicknamed "Lunar Cruiser," JAXA and Toyota spokespeople announced in an update last week.

JAXA and Toyota signed an agreement last summer to capture the lunar rover, which will incorporate fuel-cell electric-vehicle technologies. This year, the partnership is going to build, test parts for each major piece of the vehicle, and for a prototype of Lunar Cruiser it.

"The work involves the utilization of simulations to confirm power and heat dissipation performance while driving, the manufacture and assessment of prototype tires, and the use of practical reality and full-scale models to consider the layout of equipment in the cabin of the Lunar Cruiser," the update states.

JAXA, Toyota and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries lead the Team Japan Working Group, which was launched in August 2019 to examine ways to help create a sustainable human presence on the moon. Making this ambitious goal a reality will almost certainly require worldwide cooperation — with NASA, for instance, which is acting toward the same aim with its Artemis program.