The American Space Agency, NASA has decided to link up with Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency JAXA to build a moon rover for the movement of astronauts on the alien planet. JAXA designed one such vehicle with Toyota in 2019 and it impressed NASA. The vehicle runs on Renewable Energy like solar power, which would be the most probable source of energy for missions to other planets. It has already proven its usefulness on Mars where Curiosity has been operating 24X7 for nearly five years. Another lander on Mars is InSight, which is a later addition.

These robotic applications depend on solar power and JAXA’s vehicle could join the inventory of NASA.

The Firstpost says NASA took a decision to join hands with JAXA to set the stage for a permanent human presence on the Moon. The two sides have formalized an agreement. It will ensure the involvement of JAXA to the Lunar Gateway, apart from exploration in orbit and on the lunar surface. Perhaps NASA will put its earlier plans on the backburner. Those related to inflatable tents and underground bases. JAXA could also be involved in other activities of the Artemis mission.

This mission is for Americans to revisit the Moon by 2024 and land the first woman there. America sent the first man to the Moon half a century back and it now wants to repeat the performance with a woman.

Partners will help NASA to achieve its goals

NASA has changed its strategy. Instead of going it alone, it wants to collaborate with commercial and international partners.

The intention is to establish sustainable exploration by the end of the decade. The first target of NASA is the Moon followed by Mars by 2033. It wanted to use pressurized surface vehicles for use by astronauts in the Artemis mission. However, Toyota was on course to develop a mobile home that could operate on the Moon in consultation with JAXA.

That impressed NASA. The Japanese space agency announced last year that the vehicle was a two-seater but it could probably accommodate more after modifications. There is no clarification on that aspect.

Joint venture between NASA and JAXA would mean economy

Firstpost quotes NASA engineer Mark Kirasich saying, "This thing is the coolest element I’ve ever seen for people. It's like an RV for the Moon. We are going to try and develop this jointly with JAXA, as a Japanese contribution to our plan." He said this while laying out the plans the agency had for conducting activities on the lunar surface.

Obviously, renewable energy and artificial intelligence would play vital roles. Any work related to outer space and colonization of distant planets is a cost-intensive affair. Hence, a joint venture between NASA and JAXA would be economical. This is a plus point in its favor.

JAXA and NASA to collaborate for a moon vehicle

According to Republic World, the American space agency is fine-tuning its Artemis program. The agency NASA plans to land the first woman and a man to the moon by 2024. It needs a vehicle that will take care of the movements of astronauts on the alien surface. They will live and work inside while traveling across the moon. The six-wheeler vehicle will be self-driven and depend on solar power.

NASA is relying on outsiders to chip in with their expertise on important cost-intensive projects. It has announced the names of three companies that could design and develop human landing systems (HLS) for its Artemis program.

NASA will select one of these for its lunar mission. Incidentally, SpaceX is one of the companies entrusted with the work and it is already providing its spacecraft for movement of astronauts to and from the International Space Station. The company, owned by Elon Musk, has established the concept of reusable rockets to introduce economy in space research.
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