Toyota and Japan’s space agency have an ambitious plan for people to live on the moon by 2040

• Toyota and Japan’s space agency are developing a lunar vehicle called “Lunar Cruiser”.
• This rover is being designed to help people live on the moon by 2040.
• The launch of the Lunar Cruiser is planned for the latter half of the 2020s.

A future where we’re living on the moon and even Mars is what space companies and agencies are ambitious about. Elon Musk wants to build a “self-sustaining city” on Mars so creatures from Earth can live there. NASA is also going back to the moon with its Artemis-I mission that will set a precedent for future missions to the lunar surface and Mars.

A new contender in this race is Toyota which is developing a lunar vehicle with Japan’s space agency JAXA. Toyota’s lunar rover is being developed to help people live on the moon by 2040. It is also expected to help people live on Mars.

The lunar vehicle is aptly called “Lunar Cruiser” as a way of paying homage to the company’s Toyota Land Cruiser. The idea behind this vehicle is that people will be able to eat, work, sleep and communicate with others on the moon but inside the car, according to an AP report.

In terms of design, the Lunar Cruiser looks quite close to the Land Cruiser but in a tougher armed body and six wheels to ride on the lunar surface filled with craters. It would be a highly upgraded version of the present-day rovers like China’s Chang’e 5and India’s Chandrayaan 2 on missions to explore the lunar surface.

The Lunar Cruiser will be equipped with a robotic arm that will perform tasks such as inspection and maintenance. It will also be able to change its handle position for different tasks like scooping, lifting and sweeping. The robotic arm has been developed by a venture Gitai Japan Inc.

The lunar vehicle is still in development and the launch is planned for the latter half of the 2020s but there’s no specific date yet. JAXA and Toyota first signed a joint research agreement for the lunar rover back in 2019, and it revealed the vehicle’s name last year.

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