NASA Shows Off 3 New Canoo EVs for Artemis Mission

NASA partners with Canoo for the Artemis mission. The U.S. space agency unveiled a small fleet of three all-electric vehicles "specially designed" for the lunar mission.

NASA Unveils New Canoo Fleet For Artemis Mission

The fully equipped Artemis crew, support staff, and equipment will be transported to the Florida-based John F. Kennedy Space Center launch pad by three transport vehicles from E.V. start-up Canoo.

In preparation for the planned Artemis II mission, which would send men around the Moon and back, NASA will also employ the new fleet for astronaut training exercises, The Verge reported.

Since 1972, there hasn't been a crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit. If everything goes according to plan, Artemis III will launch in 2025 to land a crew on the Moon's surface.

Canoo struggled with funding last year, but several significant contracts have salvaged the company. ReadWrite claimed that Canoo's initial objectives were similar to those of other E.V. start-ups at the time, all aimed to displace Tesla one day. However, due to financial issues, the company has found it challenging to make a name for itself in the sector.

Without the ties it has established with the federal government, Canoo might have been in danger of failing.

Aside from its tie with NASA, its deal with Walmart helped the company. Walmart ordered 4,500 delivery vans, throwing the business a lifeline. A modified version of its prototype pickup truck, known as the Light Tactical Vehicle, was also delivered to the U.S. Army last year.

According to NASA, the vans' inside and exterior insignia and colors were decided upon by the team's creative members, who included the Artemis launch director and representatives from Houston's Johnson Space Center's Astronaut Office.

ALSO READ: Jeremy Hansen of Artemis 2 Is Optimistic Canadian Astronaut Will Walk on the Moon, Go to Mars

What Is Artemis II Mission?

Four people will orbit the Moon for the Artemis II mission to test the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, two of NASA's key tools for human deep space exploration, for the first time with a crew.

The roughly 10-day flight test will open the way for lunar surface missions, including the Moon landings of the first woman and person of color.

NASA will develop long-term lunar science and exploration capabilities through the Artemis missions and encourage the Artemis Generation, the next generation of explorers.

The unmanned Artemis I mission in 2022 tested NASA's new mega Moon rocket for the first time. It pushed the limits of Orion to learn more about how it functions in the harsh environment of deep space throughout a 1.4 million-mile journey beyond the Moon and back. Artemis II builds on the success of that mission.

On a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in the Block 1 configuration, the mission will blast off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida with a crew of four astronauts. The trajectory is referred to as a hybrid free return trajectory.

To boost its orbit around the Earth and eventually put the crew on a lunar-free return route, Orion will make several maneuvers. After passing past the Moon, Earth's gravity will then bring Orion naturally back to Earth.