NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returns to earth on Russian spacecraft
Fox News correspondent Phil Keating has the details from Miami, Fla., on 'America's Newsroom.'
Canoo is going on a Moon mission.
The Canoo lifestyle vehicle is being designed in cargo and passenger models. (Canoo)
The American startup electric van company has won a contract from NASA to build the crew transportation vehicles that will be used for the Artemis mission that aims to return humans to the Moon by 2025.
The all-electric Canoo lifestyle vehicle is minivan size. (Canoo)
The contract called for a street legal vehicle with the capacity for one driver, four suited-up Flight Crew Members, and three additional staff, plus six equipment bags, cooling units, and two cubic feet per passenger for miscellany. At least two large doors for entry/egress and emergency exit are needed, and it has to use a zero-emissions powertrain.
Canoo told Fox News Autos and said it was "honored to support the Artemis program." The initial contract pays $147,855 and says the vehicle must be delivered for use at the Kennedy Space Center by June 2023.
Canoo is also developing the larger MPDV lineup. (Canoo)
Canoo hasn't yet released details on what it has planned, but is working on several production vans and a pickup that are scheduled to enter production next year at its Oklahoma factory with prices starting at $34,750.
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Several electric vehicles are already in use by private space programs operating in the U.S., including the Rivian trucks that service Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and SpaceX's Tesla Model Xs.