Toyota will spend 10 years perfecting its astronaut moon rover
Japan has an ambitious plan to send men to the moon by 2030 as part of a multinational mission and is determined they’ll have a ride when they get there.
Japan’s space agency JAXA and partner Toyota have revealed that the pressurized, manned lunar rover — announced earlier this year — should be ready to launch by 2029.
• 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
• 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
https://www.engadget.com/2019/07/17/toyota-jaxa-lunar-rover-timeline/
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Toyota sign 3-year deal to develop a fuel cell Moon rover | TechCrunch
JAXA and Toyota Commence Joint Research into Manned Pressurized Rover | Corporate | Global Newsroom | Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website