In April, Canoo won a tender to supply NASA with vehicles for Project Artemis, a program to return astronauts to the lunar surface by 2025. And now a startup published the first photographs of such machines for the US space agency.
These cute minivans are designed to transport NASA astronauts from the Launch Control Center directly to the launch platform, where the SLS booster will be waiting for them. According to NASA specifications, the vehicle must carry four astronauts, three additional crew members and a driver. In addition, there should be room for five bags of equipment, four cooling units and other accessories.
The "space" vehicles are based on the upcoming commercial Lifestyle Vehicle, which should be Canoo's first production development for the consumer and commercial markets. The first customers should receive their machines in late 2022 or early 2023. Canoo is then due to deliver vehicles for NASA astronauts by June 2023.
Canoo intends to sell the Lifestyle Vehicle in Base, Premium, Adventure and Delivery versions starting at $34,750. The car is equipped with a 300 hp electric motor. and a torque of 450 Nm.
It should be noted that despite the contract with NASA, the Canoo startup is experiencing serious financial problems. According to the latest financial report, the company spent $125 million in the first three months of 2022 and had $104.9 million on hand as of March 31. Canoo does not hide the fact that the project is running out of funds, which threatens its future.
Today, NASA astronauts fly only to the International Space Station in SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, which is mounted on a Falcon 9 rocket. Astronauts are driven to the launch pad on a white Tesla Model X.
Source: Carscoops
