It has been over half a century since two American astronauts became the first people to drive on the moon. The buggy used by Dave Scott and Jim Irwin on July 31, 1971, was battery-powered, had an exposed chassis that could be folded up and stowed away and a top speed of about 8mph. It was a marvel of engineering, but built for day trips. During their Apollo 15 mission it covered 17.5 miles.
Nasa has its sights set on a dramatic upgrade: a kind of lunar camper van that would tour the surface for weeks at a time. It has signed an agreement with the Japanese government, under which the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) will develop a new moon rover.
Toyota, which is working with Jaxa, has plans for a vehicle 19ft long, 17ft wide, and 12ft high — about the size of two minibuses side by side. It will have a pressurised cabin where two pilots can live for up to a month, without relying on space suits.
Powered by hydrogen fuel cells, it could have a range of 6,200 miles and be ready by 2031, Toyota says. It will also be capable of driving itself without anyone on board.
The original “moon buggy”, which was built by Boeing, was used for the final three Apollo missions. Its introduction meant that the distances travelled grew from a little over half a mile for Apollo 11 in 1969, when Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the surface, to nearly 22.5 miles for Apollo 17 in 1972.
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Robots have travelled greater distances on distant worlds, but slowly. Opportunity, a Mars rover built by Nasa, had covered about 28 miles in 15 years by the time it reached its final resting spot on the red planet, in Perseverance Valley.
The Japanese-developed moon vehicle promises to cover much larger distances at a brisker pace, serving as both a “mobile habitat” and a laboratory. The hope is that it will be part of Nasa’s Artemis programme and will remain in service for a decade.
The Artemis I mission sent an unmanned capsule around the moon in 2022 and Artemis II, a crewed voyage around the moon, could take place as soon as September next year. Artemis III is a mission to send the first two humans to land on the moon in more than 50 years, possibly in late 2026 or early 2027.
Nasa said that it “currently plans to use the pressurised rover on Artemis VII [tentatively pencilled in for the early 2030s] and subsequent missions”.
It added that the rover will explore the moon’s south pole region. This is seen as a promising site for a permanent base as it has permanently dark craters where ice could be found, as well as peaks that are almost always bathed in sunlight, which could provide uninterrupted solar power.
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Under the newly-signed agreement, Nasa will deliver the rover to the moon. It will also offer the opportunity for two Japanese astronauts to travel to the lunar surface. The cost of the vehicle has not yet been revealed.
Bill Nelson, the director of Nasa, said: “America no longer will walk on the moon alone. With this new rover, we will uncover groundbreaking discoveries on the lunar surface that will benefit humanity and inspire the Artemis generation.”
