On Tuesday, the vehicle, which will replace the previous Astrovan cars, appeared at the Kennedy Space Center.
Canoo, an electric vehicle startup, has developed a fleet of three electric vans that will transport 4 Artemis astronauts, support staff and equipment to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA will also use electric cars to train astronauts before next year’s Artemis II mission, a kind of test launch during which astronauts on the Orion spacecraft will fly around the Moon and return to Earth.
The approximately 10-day flight will be the first crewed lunar mission since 1972, and if all goes well, Artemis III will be launched in 2025 (although NASA has already talked about the possibility of postponing the mission to 2026 due to problems with the Starship).
Last year, Canoo had problems with financing, but some key contracts saved the company. Walmart, for example, has ordered 4,500 delivery vehicles from the company, and the US Army has ordered a modified version of the Canoo pickup truck prototype called the Light Tactical Vehicle.
NASA’s creative team, which included the Artemis launch manager and representatives of the astronauts’ office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, took part in the design of the vans.
- In November 2020, NASA successfully completed the three-week Artemis I mission with the Orion spacecraft without a crew. During the trip, which began with the launch of a super-heavy two-stage Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the spacecraft’s systems were tested, covering about 2.25 million kilometers. NASA is currently collecting data from the dummies’ sensors on board the capsule to prepare for future missions involving humans.
- Eventually, the Artemis III mission will return humans to the Moon (which has not happened since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972). Two of the four astronauts (including a woman) who will travel to the Moon on the Orion spacecraft are to board the Starship and land near the Moon’s south pole to carry out a scientific program designed to last more than six Earth days. After completing their tasks, they will return to Orion and head back to Earth.
- Earlier, Ars Technica journalist Eric Berger shared information about how much money NASA will need to land astronauts on the Moon as part of the Artemis program over the next 5 years – the amount exceeds $41 billion.
