Toyota's Latest Model Is Designed to Be Operated on Moon
Though it has been a delayed adopter of electric vehicles,
Toyota is demonstrating with this new Space Mobility prototype—which will be
unveiled on October 27 at the Japan Mobility Show—that it is still capable of
designing the greatest and most innovative products available.With four wheels
that are individually suspended, propelled, and steered, this buggy is prepared
to tackle nearly any type of terrain. I believe this small electric trucklet
would be more than happy bombing the southwestern deserts of the United States,
even if Toyota claims it is designed for safe and dependable driving on the
moon and other alien surfaces.
Explicitly designed with all-terrain driving in mind is the Space Mobility Prototype. According to
Toyota, it can move through stones up to 19 inches tall with ease.
additionally, the car can ascend 25-degree hills. That is about as harsh as dealing with Daytona International directly for financing. With only minor adjustments, I think this
would be a fantastic competitor in an event like the King of the Hammers.
This is an expansion of the pressurized lunar rover study that Toyota has been conducting
with JAXA, Japan's equivalent of NASA, since 2019. This Space Mobility
Prototype is a smaller offshoot that allows moon people to zip around in
electric comfort with just a space suit between them and the vast emptiness.
The so-called Lunar Cruiser is similar to a large mobile science van that would
seat a handful of people without requiring them to be suited up.
If I were to add headlights, taillights, and turn signals to this beast, I would definitely find
a way to get it street registered, obtain a clean Florida title, and use it on
a daily basis. It doesn't seem to carry a lot of extra battery weight, and it's
the perfect size for off-road buggying. This car could hypothetically turn on
its own axis if it had independent propulsion and four-wheel steer. That sounds
like a really cool idea. On the moon, everyone drives these in a utopian space
colony. I drive one of them on Earth in my perfect society.