Giant Steps Are What You Take, Walking On The Moon...Or Riding A Motorcycle
Fancy being a moon despatch rider one day? If so is this Nasa concept motorcycle what you might be riding?
Fancy being a moon dispatch rider one day? If so is this NASA concept motorcycle what you might be riding?
There seems to have been a resurgence of interest in space travel of late and particularly in getting to our nearest neighbour, that serene face in the night sky, the Moon. The Chinese space programme is speeding on apace, with various missions planned including one in 2027 which will transport a sealed eco-system experiment up there, in preparation for building a lunar science base. All very Star Trek!
NASA is also going hell for leather towards the moon too with the Artemis programme which is a US funded international human spaceflight programme aiming to land the first woman and next man on the moon by 2024.
But what will the astronaut about town (when there is a town – Lunopolis?) be riding on their commute? Probably this
Lunar bike concept, designed for the moon by Russia's Moscow based designer Andrew Fabishevskiy. Called the 'NASA Motorcycle', (they could've at least called it the Lunar Rocket or the Moon Meteor!) it sports a long wheelbase and strong tubular trellis frame, with single sided swing arms at the front and the back and exceedingly knobbly off-road tyres – as there are no roads currently up there and it's hard riding over cheese!
It looks to have all-wheel drive to help it cope and steer safely over the moon rocks. The body of the bike is held in a Mylar fabric bag which contains the battery and the electric motor, with the controls set in the handlebars. There's a rack for luggage on the front too for space rocks, Mars Bars and Moon boots.
What do you think are you ready for a chat with Major Tom? Any dispatch riders or deliveroo riders out there fancy heading up there for a change of scene and trying this motorcycle out in a few years time?
Let us know what you think of it and in fact, what you think of the whole idea of a moon base and people living on the moon – do you find it inspiring or dread the thought of people riding motorcycles up there when you look up at the moon? Penny for your thoughts? Drop us a line at
[email protected] or on
Facebook.
ES
EN