A further expansion of the mobility company concept from Toyota.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Toyota Motor Corporation said today that they have signed a three-year joint research agreement running from fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2021. The tentative plan aims to launch the lunar rover in 2029.
In what was largely a rerun of a release from 12 March 2019, when the two parties announced their agreement to consider collaboration, the organizations formally agreed to carry on. The prototype rover will be a modified version of a standard production vehicle. (JAXA and Toyota Agree on Future Mobility – A Lunar Rover)
During the three-year joint research period, JAXA and Toyota will manufacture, test, and evaluate prototypes, with the goal of developing a manned, pressurized lunar rover and exploring the surface of the moon as part of an international project.
Details of the Joint Research
Joint research period is from June 20, 2019 to the end of fiscal year 2021:
Fiscal year 2019 – Identifying technological elements that need to be developed for driving on the surface of the moon; drawing up specifications for a prototype rover*
Fiscal year 2020 – Manufacturing test parts for each technological element; manufacturing a prototype rover
Fiscal year 2021 – Testing and evaluating both the manufactured test parts and the prototype rover
JAXA intends to acquire data related to driving technologies in order to develop a manned, pressurized lunar rover. The rover will be used for missions to explore the moon’s polar regions, with the aim both of investigating the possibility of using the moon’s resources―such as frozen water―and of acquiring technologies that enable exploration of the surfaces of massive heavenly bodies.
On July 1, 2019, Toyota established a dedicated Lunar Exploration Mobility Works; Toyota plans to expand the department’s workforce to approximately 30 members by the end of the year.
From 2022 – Manufacture and evaluation of a 1:1 scale prototype rover; acquisition and verification testing of data on driving systems required to explore the moon’s polar regions.
From 2024 – Design, manufacture, and evaluation of an engineering model of the rover; design of the actual flight model.
From 2027 – Manufacture, and performance and quality testing of the flight model.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
JAXA, Toyota Start Research for Manned Pressurized Rover
A further expansion of the mobility company concept from Toyota.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Toyota Motor Corporation said today that they have signed a three-year joint research agreement running from fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2021. The tentative plan aims to launch the lunar rover in 2029.
In what was largely a rerun of a release from 12 March 2019, when the two parties announced their agreement to consider collaboration, the organizations formally agreed to carry on. The prototype rover will be a modified version of a standard production vehicle. (JAXA and Toyota Agree on Future Mobility – A Lunar Rover)
During the three-year joint research period, JAXA and Toyota will manufacture, test, and evaluate prototypes, with the goal of developing a manned, pressurized lunar rover and exploring the surface of the moon as part of an international project.
Details of the Joint Research
Joint research period is from June 20, 2019 to the end of fiscal year 2021:
JAXA intends to acquire data related to driving technologies in order to develop a manned, pressurized lunar rover. The rover will be used for missions to explore the moon’s polar regions, with the aim both of investigating the possibility of using the moon’s resources―such as frozen water―and of acquiring technologies that enable exploration of the surfaces of massive heavenly bodies.
On July 1, 2019, Toyota established a dedicated Lunar Exploration Mobility Works; Toyota plans to expand the department’s workforce to approximately 30 members by the end of the year.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.