Electric Lunar Rover Luniaq Unveiled at Czech Space Week

The automotive industry has been involved in space-related works in recent years, one of which is Xtend Design’s lunar rover Luniaq inspired by the Skoda’s Enyaq electric car.

Human beings are apparently decisive to launch a new era of electric mobility across the entire Solar System and beyond. “We would like to inspire people on how we could continue to progressively develop our technologies and one day live and drive in places other than Earth,” said Tomas Rousek, London-based terrestrial and space architect of Xtend Design, who previously worked for NASA to develop concepts of missions to the Moon, Mars, and asteroids.

Lunar Rover Luniaq. Xtend Design

With its six tires, the lunar rover based on NASA‘s Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle was unveiled at an event as part of Czech Space Week earlier this month. The concept car would be capable of autonomous and remote operation, and it could also host up to four astronauts. Who knows, maybe you would be one of those lucky people in the future.

Design of the lunar rover Luniaq

As seen in the photos below, the lunar rover Luniaq has two hatches on the sides making a connection to the space modules. There is a “suitport” blanketed by a hinged door at the rear, which reveals two spacesuits. According to the company, “This solution allows astronauts to crawl directly into their spacesuits and prevents harmful lunar dust entering the cabin.”

For an in-operation Luniaq, there are solid-state batteries in which the electrical power is stored, and in this way, these batteries can be charged through solar panels — dubbed UltraFlex allowing charging during slow rides  — located on the rover’s roof.

The rover’s large windows are built of transparent Aluminium. Xtend Design

To protect the vehicle from high temperature, which can reach 260 degrees Fahrenheit (127 degrees Celsius) when sunlight hits the Moon’s surface, the roof has radiators for the cooling process during the day. “Large windows are built of transparent Aluminium which is more resistant to micrometeorites than glass,” reads Xtend’s statement regarding lunar rover Luniaq. “Additional radiation protection is provided by polyethylene layers. The bottom front window allows drivers to watch the terrain directly in front of the car.”

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Stereoscopic cameras of Luniaq are for scanning the terrain and having 3D imaging that is required for autonomous control of the car. Moon’s surface is known to be bumpy, and the rover’s large soft wheels would offer comfortable driving for astronauts.

Xtend Design