Nissan is on a mission to the moon

IN collaboration with US companies Teledyne Technologies Incorporated and Sierra Space, Nissan North America is designing a Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) for NASA's new lunar exploration venture as part of its Artemis space program.

Teledyne Brown Engineering is leading this program and all aspects of engineering, manufacturing and powering the vehicle. Sierra Space will provide flight software, communications and navigation systems.

Nissan will contribute its expertise in intelligent vehicle systems and autonomous driving. Through this partnership, the manufacturer intends to explore new horizons, particularly in the areas of power management, vehicle connectivity and human-machine interfaces. In fact, all these technologies for driving on the moon could one day find use in developing ever more intelligent cars for driving on Earth.

Nissan joins a growing list of automakers involved in such programs. The latest examples include Hyundai, which has already presented its Tiger X-1 prototype, a remotely piloted vehicle capable of exploring the smallest, most rugged and unknown corners of Earth or other planets.

For its part, General Motors recently announced that it was working with Lockheed Martin on a project for a two-seater electric and autonomous rover, also intended for future lunar explorations.

Find out more about the LTV being developed by Nissan and partners in the following video: