Nissan Team Up with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

Designed to be on earth, the lunar rover prototype has been revealed through a project between Nissan and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), starting in early January 2020.

Nissan collaborates with JAXA to improve performance on sandy terrain and under other harsh conditions using its e-4ORCE technology. Often, cars stuck in sand spin and buried their wheels, impeding progress.

A lunar rover must have the ability to traverse the moon's powdery, rocky, and undulating terrain while being energy efficient as energy sources for vehicles in space are also limited. Nissan has developed driving-force controls to minimise wheel spin according to road conditions with the joint effort.

The Nissan Ariya e-4ORCE is one hundred percent using an electric motor drive system that uses its motor control technology developed in mass-market electric vehicles such as Nissan LEAF and the all-new Ariya electric crossover.

During the Nissan Futures event, Nissan Ariya Single Seater Concept debuted driving controllability and a major key for space exploration. In other words, the model fulfilled all criteria needed to traverse the moon's powdery and energy efficiently.

The car's design takes inspiration from Ariya and Nissan's participation in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

Designers of the project were inspired by the electric crossover's fluid and an efficient surface where the Single Seater Concept looks like the air itself shaped it.

The automaker does not reveal its full specifications, but as speculated, it will be a more powerful version of the Ariya's system, which generates 389 horsepower (290 kilowatts), 442 pound-feet (600 Newton-meters).

In addition to its 87-kWh battery pack, the range-topping Platinum+ e-4ORCE AWD trim has dual motors.

This technology, according to Nissan, boosts the lunar exploration vehicle's performance on tricky terrain. It uses the same motor control technology as the Leaf and e-4ORCE all-wheel control technology in the Ariya electric crossover. Nissan's lunar rover also uses technologies from its electric cars in production.