Space-age Marketing: Toyota Names Moon Rover After Land Cruiser
If you hadn’t heard, Toyota has pitched a lunar rover to serve as a vehicle for an upcoming international moon mission led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and supported by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) — among other extra-planetary organizations. Conceptualized last year, the six-wheeled dune hopper offers more creature comforts than the original Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) produced by Boeing and General Motors’ Defense Research Laboratories decades ago.
But it needed a name, and Toyota figured it might as well find something fitting that also helped it market products here on Earth (assuming it’s chosen for the mission). Fortunately, the brand’s history includes a vehicle that’s known to be so reliable and adept at traversing unforgiving terrain that it’s become internationally famous for it: the Land Cruiser.
Announcing its decision Friday, Toyota said it wants the moon buggy to be named “Lunar Cruiser.” The automaker didn’t omit mentioning the obvious connection to its own SUV.
From Toyota:
The nickname Lunar Cruiser was chosen because of the familiar feeling it offers the people involved in the development and manufacture of the vehicle prototype as part of the joint research project as well as the familiarity it will provide the general public. The name, which references the Toyota Land Cruiser SUV, was decided upon based on the quality, durability, and reliability expected of the pressurized lunar rover, and the concept that Toyota has long held to for the Land Cruiser, which was for people to “come back alive,” especially true for the lunar rover as it will be traversing the harsh environment of the moon’s surface.
JAXA has already signed off on the name and attached itself to the press release. The pair agreed to work on a manned rover in March of 2019. They are currently developing the individual components necessary to make the vehicle work ahead of running virtual simulations that will foreshadow the prototype — which will be tested to see how much physical abuse it can endure and how the layout of the cabin needs to be changed. This year’s goals focus on heat management (important, since the moon’s surface fluctuates between 127 C and minus 173 C) and building a full-scale model.
The cockpit will be pressurized, with the unit dependent on a hydrogen fuel cell system and assisted by an extendable solar panel array, rather than the non-rechargeable, silver-zinc potassium hydroxide batteries of the first LRVs. Lunar Cruiser will also have room for two astronauts, with the ability to accommodate two more if the situation calls for it. Toyota is targeting 1,000 kilometers of range when the rover is filled to the brim with hydrogen, and wants to make it so the craft can endure well over a month of hard work before succumbing to the extreme temperatures and rampant dust.
“Manned rovers with pressurized cabins are an element that will play an important role in full-fledged exploration and use of the lunar surface,” JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa said when the project was first announced. “Through our joint studies going forward, we would like to put to use Toyota’s excellent technological abilities related to mobility, and we look forward to the acceleration of our technological studies for the realization of a manned, pressurized rover.”
The big boy (estimated to be at least 20 feet in length) is scheduled to launch in 2029 if everything goes according to plan. The feat requires the full cooperation of “Team Japan,” which includes Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and is supposed to incorporate more partners as things progress.
[Images: JAXA; Toyota]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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Does anyone else have a flashback to that great late-1970s British series "Space 1999" with this lunar rover? Set on the moon, with Martin Landau and real-life spouse Barbara Bain as leads, it's a classic (DVDs are available) and was state-of-the-art for special effects and this rover looks just like those in the series. Some closet "Space 1999" fans at Toyota?....
Cool vehicle, but does it really need side markers/turn signals and tail/brake lights? Is Toyota expecting a lot of traffic on the moon? LOL!