Can You Put A Race Car On The Moon?

[00:00:02]Pat Lesson Williams of One Team have been invited to the Komatsu show and plant here in Japan where we are taking a closer look at Komatsu's mission to put their machines on the moon.

[00:00:16]However, Pat and I have come with a very big question. What would it take to get the FW48 operating on the moon?

[00:00:23]So, we're going to meet some of Komatsu's lunar specialists to find out.

[00:00:31]So, what's the gravity in the moon?

[00:00:34]>> 1/6 >> 1/6, so >> Compared to the earth.

[00:00:38]>> Meaning on the moon I would be 20 kilos, something like that.

[00:00:41]>> Maybe less than that.

[00:00:42]>> Less.

[00:00:43]>> What would you >> I'm 78, say 80 kilos with a suit.

[00:00:46]>> Yeah, less.

[00:00:48]>> What's the temperature in the moon, more or less?

[00:00:50]>> Minus 170.

[00:00:51]>> 170.

[00:00:52]>> 170 to 110.

[00:00:54]>> Over 300 degrees.

[00:00:56]>> Okay.

[00:00:56]>> Difference.

[00:00:57]>> How do you get a Formula 1 car to work in the moon?

[00:01:00]>> Mhm.

[00:01:01]>> I guess it's a similar challenge to uh getting to work a Komatsu machine in the moon.

[00:01:04]>> Uh the moon environment is very very harsh. That's a super harsh environment.

[00:01:09]So, it is a very similar, very higher challenge for the both of us. Without any atmosphere and we do have to think about the very different approach to design car.

[00:01:28]>> How fast are the Komatsus?

[00:01:30]>> It's only a two or three kph.

[00:01:32]>> Two or three kph.

[00:01:34]>> very slow, yes.

[00:01:35]>> You'd have to work on that neck then, do you?

[00:01:37]>> No.

[00:01:38]>> There's no gravity.

[00:01:39]>> But it's all going to be about um >> There's no G-force.

[00:01:42]>> How do you create vertical load on the tire?

[00:01:45]>> Do you still need the car to be light?

[00:01:47]No, you need the car to be heavy to stay on the ground.

[00:01:50]>> Well, I would think when you hit a bump with low gravity it's just going to fly off.

[00:01:55]>> Lighter is better because of the acceleration uh response. And also to think about the durability the later is much more better to to avoid any big impact for the body and the components.

[00:02:08]The transportation fees from earth to moon the cost the weight is super important issues.

[00:02:14]>> 1 kilo >> Oh, 1 million 1 million.

[00:02:18]>> 1 million.

[00:02:19]>> 1 million dollar.

[00:02:21]>> 1 million per kilo.

[00:02:22]>> Yeah.

[00:02:23]>> Oh, well.

[00:02:25]>> Well, that's not bad.

[00:02:26]>> You need a lot of budget eh Komatsu to bring >> What are the first challenges we're going to have to deal with?

[00:02:31]>> There's no oxygen and there's no combustion, so you have you are forced to run electrical engines, I guess.

[00:02:36]>> Yeah, or yeah, electrical engines, but I guess you can use hydrogen fuel cells or something to generate it. There'll be a number of different things.

[00:02:44]>> I see your brain is working already, but >> Of course.

[00:02:47]>> It's already >> You need a quick car on the moon.

[00:02:50]>> Yes, it is. Yes.

[00:02:51]>> How do you get it to move? To find traction and then from in the sun.

[00:02:56]>> Uh we do have to redesign the undercarriage.

[00:03:01]>> It is sand like the sand we have in the earth is is a similar kind of material as >> Mhm.

[00:03:08]>> sand earth, yeah?

[00:03:09]>> Uh on on the moon if you compact compact compacting it's very it make very hard.

[00:03:17]>> So, it's like a firm surface. It's not as sandy as as it is here.

[00:03:21]>> make a racing track.

[00:03:22]>> Of course. I'm saying.

[00:03:24]>> You think we would need to put these tires to the moon?

[00:03:27]>> tracks >> You cannot use normal rubber tire sure we because of no air the temperature range is very wide.

[00:03:36]>> Okay.

[00:03:37]>> So, with no air I'm sure the laws of physics kind of work there still.

[00:03:43]So, you need to create your own downforce so that you get more grip out of the tire.

[00:03:48]>> Out of this kind of tire?

[00:03:50]>> Or any kind of tire.

[00:03:51]>> Or any kind of >> Right, >> We going to expect any kind of tire.

[00:03:54]downforce downforce. So, we do have to think about how we can uh the lower the center of gravity and how we can get some very optimal the weight distributions.

[00:04:06]>> You can have some sort of rocket thrusting pushing you downwards.

[00:04:10]>> The the one idea is a thruster.

[00:04:13]>> Mhm.

[00:04:14]>> It should be it should be on the front under here.

[00:04:16]>> Mhm.

[00:04:16]>> Yeah.

[00:04:17]>> So, do we say the the car has no wings?

[00:04:22]>> Doesn't have wings.

[00:04:23]>> Okay.

[00:04:23]>> There's no point.

[00:04:24]>> No wings, but you want a thruster pushing you down?

[00:04:27]>> you'd have a thruster >> Pushing you up, sorry.

[00:04:29]>> Yeah, pushing that way.

[00:04:31]>> Okay.

[00:04:31]>> And then that's one at the front.

[00:04:33]So, it's thrusting this way and pushing you down.

[00:04:35]>> [clears throat] >> I don't know how to draw draw a thruster, but >> That's not the best thruster I've seen.

[00:04:40]>> Okay, you do it.

[00:04:41]>> Please.

[00:04:42]>> [laughter] >> Be my guest.

[00:04:43]>> No, no, no, no. I think that's perfect.

[00:04:45]>> Okay. Which is pushing you down, no?

[00:04:47]>> Yeah, yeah.

[00:04:48]>> I'm going to draw a arrow for pushing you sideways.

[00:04:53]>> be?

[00:04:53]>> What could you thrust up there?

[00:04:55]>> What what mechanism? What would you >> What about your idea before of sand thrusting?

[00:05:01]>> Well, yeah. I mean, there's lots of sand around. If you had an electric motor that pushed sand up that way.

[00:05:07]>> This is another new ideas using that sand.

[00:05:10]>> Well, there's lots around.

[00:05:11]>> Mhm.

[00:05:12]>> If you stop, it'll just get covered in a big pile of sand.

[00:05:16]>> [clears throat] >> As long as you're moving.

[00:05:17]>> as you're in constant movement.

[00:05:18]>> Right, [laughter] yes.

[00:05:20]>> My in the pitstop them for the mechanics. You get them full of sand.

[00:05:24]>> [laughter] >> Anyway, that's a different What were you talking about the center of gravity?

[00:05:29]It's important.

[00:05:30]>> Because of the gravity is a so low and on the moon, so we do have to at this time how we can lower the center of gravity and how can avoid the risk of rollover.

[00:05:41]>> How do we fit me in the car? We have the driver.

[00:05:45]>> Yeah, so it's a car. So, you you have to be sit below.

[00:05:48]>> So >> I would need to be sat almost lying down here.

[00:05:52]>> Yeah, I I I think so. Yeah. You need to wear a space suit.

[00:05:57]>> Space suit, so we need to make it a big compartment.

[00:06:00]>> Yeah. Yeah. But you have to be laid out.

[00:06:03]>> Like this.

[00:06:04]>> What do you think? It is like a solar car challenge.

[00:06:06]>> Okay, then what I need is a mirror because I'm going to be looking up.

[00:06:12]A mirror here with a mirror here, no?

[00:06:14]>> Mhm.

[00:06:15]>> To show me >> Just a camera.

[00:06:17]>> A camera?

[00:06:19]We don't need mirrors. We need cameras.

[00:06:21]>> Exactly.

[00:06:22]I [snorts] guess the only thing you want below you is the battery.

[00:06:24]>> Mhm.

[00:06:25]>> Which is heavier than you.

[00:06:26]>> And we put the battery here.

[00:06:29]>> Does the shape of the car change rather than it being like that?

[00:06:32]>> Which is the classic >> You end up with a very wide car cuz you're worried about the thing rolling over.

[00:06:38]>> Okay, so it would be like a completely flat structure, almost like a table.

[00:06:43]>> Yeah. Shall I draw it?

[00:06:45]>> Okay, yes, please.

[00:06:46]>> So what have we got?

[00:06:47]I don't know. You've got a wheel here.

[00:06:49]Wheel here.

[00:06:51]I made it long as well.

[00:06:55]So your little thing's sitting in the middle here.

[00:06:57]And you're surrounded by batteries.

[00:06:59]So the center of gravity is as low as possible.

[00:07:03]But it have four four wheels.

[00:07:05]>> And I drive laying down.

[00:07:08]>> Yeah.

[00:07:09]>> My steering wheel and everything. And I just thrusters here.

[00:07:12]>> Yeah.

[00:07:13]>> Push whatever. So I'm lying like this and push with the >> And you could even not have a cockpit and just look at the screen.

[00:07:20]>> [laughter] >> Wouldn't be fun at all.

[00:07:22]>> Put the screen here or what? And then Or we could simply make the car automated and don't need a driver. How many people would we need there operating it?

[00:07:32]>> You're on the moon on your own, I think.

[00:07:33]>> You [laughter] would just send F1 drivers to the moon by ourselves?

[00:07:37]And or you remotely control it from Houston.

[00:07:41]>> I I I think I'll the remote garage in in England.

[00:07:47]>> How did Armstrong communicate to Houston?

[00:07:51]>> With an 11 second delay or something, I guess.

[00:07:53]>> Was there?

[00:07:53]>> I don't There must be a delay.

[00:07:56]3 seconds.

[00:07:58]It's not even that much, no?

[00:08:00]>> That's actually not bad, 3 seconds.

[00:08:03]No issues then.

[00:08:05]And it's all radio communication.

[00:08:07]>> Yes.

[00:08:09]And also telemetry as well.

[00:08:11]>> How does that work? How do you send data from the moon to the earth?

[00:08:15]>> Don't know. The same way you're going to get the voice radio back, I guess.

[00:08:19]>> Okay.

[00:08:21]I like how we've gone from a classic F1 car to actually completely flipping it and saying this is the kind of F1 car that you would need in the moon.

[00:08:30]>> Um I think the only other thing is it would be nice if Carlos could actually look out.

[00:08:34]>> Okay.

[00:08:34]>> Like one of those what are they called? Recumbent push bikes.

[00:08:40]>> I think if you can give me a bit less than 45° incline, I can drive no problem.

[00:08:45]>> And it'll be a very wide car and a very long car.

[00:08:48]>> How wide, how long you calculate?

[00:08:50]>> Well, for the same weight transfer, but it's going to have to be six times wider than the current car if the gravity >> Six times wider?

[00:08:56]>> Well, if the gravity is 1/6.

[00:08:57]>> Six times wider, six times longer. It's going to be a You're going to need to design a very big F1 track to fit >> There's a lot of space up there.

[00:09:05]>> There is quite a lot of space.

[00:09:07]Okay.

[00:09:08]Okay, we have an F1 car then.

[00:09:10]An FW moon edition.

[00:09:13]>> There we are.

[00:09:14]>> Yes.

[00:09:15]>> I think it's pretty cool what you guys came up with here in 20 minutes, so.

[00:09:20]>> Yeah.

[00:09:20]>> Congratulations. Now I go to drive it.

[00:09:22]>> [laughter] >> Thanks very much for your time. That was really interesting.

[00:09:27]>> So very interesting.

[00:09:28]>> Thanks for watching.

[00:09:28]>> Thank you so much for having us and let this let us in in into this project and the way you see there your lunar exploration.

[00:09:38]>> We are very much looking forward to seeing you on the moon with our F1 car.

[00:09:42]>> [laughter] >> Thank you. Thank you.

[00:09:54]>> [music] [music]