Automakers want a shot at giving astronauts a ride on the lunar surface REACHING FOR THE MOON G BY C.J. MOORE eneral Motors helped make it happen in the early 1970s. Now, a half-century after the final Apollo missions, automakers are once again looking to build vehicles capable of zooming across Earth's crater-covered moon. As space agencies work toward returning humans to the planet's only natural satellite, a number of automotive giants are unveiling high-tech concept vehicles that - once built and tested - have a shot at transporting astronaut crews and payloads across the lunar surface by the late 2020s and early 2030s. Such is the goal of Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's largest automaker. The company in July 2019 signed on to a three-year joint research agreement with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, known as JAXA, to build a pressurized moon rover 18 equipped with hydrogen fuel cells and six wheels. " The plans for 2021 include manufacturing test parts for each technology element and manufacturing a prototype rover, " Toyota spokeswoman Carley Hummel confirmed to Shift. Toyota and JAXA have dubbed their rover of behemoth proportions the Lunar Cruiser, a nod to the automaker's Land Cruiser SUV. Hummel said tentative plans to launch the rover in 2029 haven't changed. Toyota has floated the Lunar Cruiser as an option for Artemis, a multinational program led by NASA and joined by JAXA whose goal is to establish a long-term human presence on the moon as a test run for something bigger: Mars. NASA has laid plans for which rockets it will use to blast astronauts off to the moon as part of the program's missions. The agency has also considered companies Top: Hyundai Motor Group's TIGER X-1 mobility concept is designed to traverse rough terrain. Above: Audi's Lunar Quattro rover was developed to help explore an area near the Apollo 17 landing site. shift * may 2021 S018_AN_20210524.indd 18 5/17/21 3:18 PMhttps://www.autonews.com/mobility-report/toyota-shoots-moon https://www.autonews.com/mobility-report/toyota-shoots-moon https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-exloration-artemis/eight-nations-sign-u-s-led-artemis-moon-agreements-idUSKBN26Y2OV https://www.autonews.com/automakers-suppliers/toyota-wants-put-lunar-vehicle-moon https://www.autonews.com/automakers-suppliers/toyota-wants-put-lunar-vehicle-moon https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/blue-origin-protests-nasas-awarding-moon-lander-contract-spacex-2021-04-26/