TOKYO, July 21 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor (7203.T) plans to use regenerative fuel cell technology to power a manned lunar rover, executives said on Friday, raising the prospect of eventually using the moon's water ice as an energy source in the future.
It is participating in NASA's Artemis programme and plans to have an astronaut at a lunar space station called Gateway as part of that in the latter half of the 2020's.
Toyota has teamed up with Japan's space agency since 2019 to develop the manned lunar rover - which it dubbed the Lunar Cruiser - that they hope can be put on the moon in 2029.
NASA expects Japan to provide a lunar rover with a 2029 target launch date as a contribution to the Artemis programme, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said in presentation materials on Friday.
A fuel cell vehicle uses an electric motor like an electric vehicle but draws power from a fuel stack where hydrogen is separated by a catalyst to produce electricity.
Persons:
Fumio, Ken Yamashita, Artemis, there's, Yamashita, Daniel Leussink, Angus MacSwan
Organizations:
Toyota, Cruiser, NASA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Thomson
Locations:
TOKYO, Japan