Robots for Moon Base Construction
March 12, 2009 by david.gump
Tim Hornyak
for National Geographic News
March 9, 2009
Robots might be the first construction workers on the moon, according to a recent NASA-sponsored study.
The report says two remote-controlled droids could build a landing site for a lunar outpost in less than six months—offering a safer, cheaper alternative to human-powered construction in the early phases of the project.
NASA plans to have a moon base fully operational by 2024. One of the key challenges is first preparing a landing area, because the launchpads would have to protect nearby human habitation, to be built later, from being sandblasted by spacecraft. [more]
