Crew Transport Vehicles for Artemis Missions to be Built by Canoo
NASA has selected high-tech advanced mobility company Canoo to provide Crew Transport Vehicles (CTVs) for crewed Artemis lunar exploration launches. Canoo will deliver multiple customized all-electric LV models to NASA by June 2023.
"Our customized vehicles are modular and upgradable throughout their lifecycle with a high level of recyclability at end of life. Canoo’s Made in America electric vehicles embody our nation’s ingenuity and bold determination to reclaim global technology leadership for America and its allied nations."
Canoo Investor, Chairman and CEO Tony Aquila.
“We are honored to transport the Artemis crew to the launch site for the first human lunar landing in more than 50 years. The selection of our innovative technologies by NASA to take a diverse team of American astronauts to the moon showcases a great commitment to sustainable transportation,” said Canoo Investor, Chairman and CEO Tony Aquila. “As a high-tech mobility company, we are inspired by NASA’s pioneering and trailblazing spirit. Our customized vehicles are modular and upgradable throughout their lifecycle with a high level of recyclability at end of life. Canoo’s Made in America electric vehicles embody our nation’s ingenuity and bold determination to reclaim global technology leadership for America and its allied nations. We are proud to be a partner to NASA in one of the world’s greatest endeavors.”
The Crew Transport Vehicle must carry fully suited astronauts, flight support staff and equipment to the launch site. Astronaut and crew comfort, safety and function are critical to successful completion of a mission. Addressing these challenges early on in the design phase speeds development and often results in a better product.
The new Crew Transport Vehicles will be based on Canoo’s LV model – a future-forward all-electric vehicle, designed from a clean sheet and based on Canoo’s proprietary multi-purpose platform to maximize cabin space, utility and productivity on a compact footprint.
Canoo vehicles are engineered from the inside out, vertically integrating drive by wire function in its modular multi-purpose platform which liberates valuable interior space for passengers and cargo. The team focused on optimizing function and form, so each component and space of the vehicle has a purpose for the driver, passenger and the mission.
Canoo will manufacture vehicles for the Artemis mission in the heartland. The company recently named Bentonville, Arkansas as its headquarters and advanced manufacturing site and Pryor, Oklahoma as the site of its mega micro factory. Canoo will bring more than 2,700 high tech advanced mobility jobs directly and attract many more indirectly to the region. Canoo plans to launch commercial production from its Bentonville facility in late 2022.
“The heartland has produced seven of America’s astronauts, including the first Native American astronaut. We are pleased to build on that incredible legacy and to engage the can-do spirit of this dynamic region in the future of space exploration” Aquila said. “NASA’s choice will support high-paying technology and light blue collar EV advanced manufacturing jobs with the Cherokee Nation and the states of Oklahoma and Arkansas."
(Image provided with Canoo news release)