NASA has just commissioned Canoo, an American company specializing in electric vehiclesto design the vehicles that will transport the astronauts of the Artemis program from the dressing room to the launch pad.
Canoo has thirty days to develop its design and present it to the American space agency.
A comfortable 8-seater vehicle
NASA’s requirements are not disproportionate: the electric vehicle must be able to accommodate up to eight passengers, including four fully equipped astronauts, in addition to being able to transport all their equipment and personal effects. In addition, the vehicle must be equipped with air conditioning and electrical outlets at each seat.
NASA’s choice of Canoo may seem surprising: if the firm’s electric mini bus concept, unveiled in 2019, has something to seduce with its originality, the firm has since had a journey strewn with pitfalls: conflict with Hyundai, investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against him, departure of his co-founder for Apple…
This prestigious partnership therefore represents a golden opportunity for the company, especially when taking into account the importance of NASA’s Artemis program. Once the design has been submitted to the space agency, Canoo will have another thirty days to agree with the latter on a final model. This should be delivered in June 2023 and be ready for the Artemis II mission, whose objective is to send astronauts into lunar orbit.
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Source: Jalopnik
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