NASA is looking for new exploration vehicles for its new Artemis space program, and German design firm Hookie thinks it has the perfect solution: an electric motorcycle to run on the moon.
The so-called Tardigrade is much lighter than a traditional lunar car, as it only has two wheels. “A lunar vehicle needs almost the same space as three to four Tardigrades. It weighs much less than a full steel car,” Nico Muller, co-founder of Hookie, tells Interesting Engineering.
Hookie used laser-cut aluminum frames to further reduce weight, and Kevlar to shield the motorcycle and drivetrain from increased radiation in space. This weight and size savings would allow NASA to use much smaller lunar landers, thereby reducing costs and fuel use.
Although NASA has yet to invest in it, Muller says the agency is aware of the Tardigrade project: “It would be great to talk about future collaborations or ideas.”
NASA had explored many different types of lunar exploration vehicles for previous Apollo missions, including some type of electric scooter. This scooter was very different from the futuristic Tron-type motorcycle that Hookie had designed, and although NASA had built a prototype, the idea of the scooter was abandoned and now the space agency’s iconic four-wheeled electric vehicle was the symbol of its lunar programs.
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