Nasa unveils special ‘astrovans’ for moon-bound Artemis astronauts as homage to agency’s history

Vans designed to carry four astronauts in advanced spacesuits, support personnel and specialised equipment

Three specially designed, fully electric, environmentally friendly crew transportation vehicles for Artemis missions arrived at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida (NASA/Isaac Watson)

Nasa has unveiled special vehicles that will transport moon-bound Artemis astronauts to their spacecraft and pay homage to the agency’s history as well.

Canoo Technologies of California, which was awarded the contract to manufacture the special vehicles, delivered three fully electric crew transportation “astrovans” to Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday.

The “environmentally friendly” vehicles are designed to carry four astronauts in their advanced Orion crew survival system spacesuits as well as support personnel including a spacesuit technician, Nasa said in a statement.

The vans are customised to accommodate Nasa’s unique specifications for the Artemis missions, providing room for specialised equipment for the drive to Launch Pad 39B ahead of the launch to the moon.

They also pay homage to the legacy of Nasa’s human spaceflight and space exploration efforts, the agency said, adding that aspects of the design such as the interior and exterior markings and the colour of the vehicles were chosen by a creative team.

Representatives, including those from Nasa’s Astronaut Office in Houston and the Artemis launch director, provided insights for the design of the vehicle, for which Canoo was awarded the contract to manufacture the vehicles last April.

“The collaboration between Canoo and our Nasa representatives focused on the crews’ safety and comfort on the way to the pad ahead of their journey to the moon,” said Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Nasa’s Artemis launch director.

“I have no doubt everyone who sees these new vehicles will feel the same sense of pride I have for this next endeavour of crewed Artemis missions,” he said.

Artemis II is the first crewed mission under the Artemis programme that will send four astronauts around the moon and bring them home.

Ahead of the mission, Nasa said the astrovans fleet will be used for “astronaut training exercises” at the spaceport.

The Artemis II launch will be followed by the Artemis III mission, in which Nasa plans to land the first woman and first person of colour on the moon, and pave the way for more lunar surface missions in the future.