Toyota are rapidly changing tact in the industry and are re-naming themselves to Toyota Mobility in the coming months.
The announcement that Toyota are joining the party in the space race is really interesting I think. These days, it's not just Nations going to space, but the likes of well funded private companies such as Space X, Blue Origins and Virgin Galactic. In this case, Toyota have partnered with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to supply an autonomous vehicle to drive their astronauts around the Moon without the requirement of wearing space suits - something similar to the MARS series that aired on the Discovery Channel in 2018/19 if this sort of thing interests you.
This is a completely different direction for Toyota to take and a complete switch in tact that other manufacturers may take a gamble on in the near future, as there's so much talk of inter-planet living these days.
Is it such a crazy idea?
Elon Musk (owner of Space X) has said by 2023 they'll be travelling to the Moon with passengers to set up a base camp and eventually travel to Mars. Could this open a new fleet of vehicles for manufacturers to design and manufacture for space and not just Earth?
Oh what an interesting time we live in!
Toyota joins space race with plan for self-driving lunar rover
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