The Nissan X-Trail boasts powerful performance, providing drivers with comfort and confidence even on challenging terrains, such as those encountered on the moon’s surface. Thanks to its e-4ORCE technology, the car can control front and rear drive force and left and right braking, allowing for precise cornering and reduced steering correction, even on rugged roads. This technology, which can control the motor down to 1/10,000 of a second, provides an accurate response on any surface, making driving on rough terrain much easier.
Nissan’s e-4ORCE technology has even been adopted by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to control a prototype lunar rover’s driving force. This technology has enabled the rover to navigate through extreme conditions, such as the harsh volcanic terrain of Miyakejima, a Japanese island whose basaltic sand closely resembles the moon’s regolith.
Additionally, the second-generation e-POWER with a VC turbo engine effectively reduces the RPMs and frequency of engine starts, while canceling out engine noise by emitting an opposite sound wave, resulting in a much quieter cabin.
In December 2021, Nissan unveiled a lunar rover prototype developed jointly with JAXA at its Nissan Futures event in Japan. Nissan has been working with JAXA since January 2020 on driving the controllability of the rovers, a key technology for space exploration. Lunar rovers must be capable of traversing the moon’s powdery, rocky, and undulating terrain while remaining energy-efficient.
Energy sources for operating vehicles in space are limited, which is why Nissan’s research applies the motor control technology developed through its production of mass-market electric vehicles, such as the LEAF, and e-4ORCE all-wheel control technology featured on the all-new Ariya electric crossover. Specifically, e-4ORCE technology is boosting the lunar rover’s performance on tricky terrain.
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