Presidential panel urges “hybrid” lunar lander utilizing work of Astrobotic Technology and Google Lunar X Prize teams
October 22, 2009 by david.gump
PITTSBURGH, PA – October 22, 2009 – Astrobotic Technology Inc. said today that its robotic Moon expeditions will lead to the private-sector lunar landers that the Presidentially-appointed Augustine panel proposes for NASA’s future human missions.
Officially known as the “Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee” and informally as the Augustine panel for its chairman, retired Lockheed Martin chairman Norm Augustine, the group delivered its long-awaited full report to NASA and the White House today.
The panel’s summary, issued six weeks ago, telegraphed its main conclusion: The cost of America’s exploration plans exceed the available budget. Today’s full report offers lower-cost commercial alternatives.
The report proposes a “hybrid” vehicle with a private-sector descent stage to land on the Moon, carrying a NASA-designed ascent stage to lift astronauts back into space. The descent stage would be based on technologies developed by companies like Astrobotic Technology as it executes its planned series of robotic expeditions starting in mid 2011.
Experience gained through repeated robotic landings will enable Astrobotic to produce a descent stage with the high reliability required to deliver astronauts to the surface, as called for in the Augustine report.
Astrobotic Technology is led by Dr. William “Red” Whittaker, a Carnegie Mellon University roboticist famous for intelligent mobile machines. Astrobotic intends to win the $20 million Google Lunar X Prize with its initial “Tranquility Trek” robot expedition to the Apollo 11 site. The robot will be a rolling TV studio and Internet node, sending back high-definition video of its adventures.
“We aim to make the lunar frontier more affordable, and to accelerate the day when lunar resources can be exported to improve life on Earth,” said David Gump, president.
After the Apollo 11 expedition in 2011, subsequent Astrobotic missions will send robots to the lunar poles to prospect for water ice on deep crater floors never warmed the Sun. Another early target will be volcanic caves known as lava tubes, which would offer explorers and settlers protection from the Moon’s temperature extremes, radiation and micrometeorite impacts. The Moon may also provide resources for Earth, such as helium3 for clean fusion power generators and platinum group metals for pollution control devices.
About Astrobotic Technology
The company has completed a lunar research contract from NASA and prototype rovers are being field-tested at Carnegie Mellon University by Dr. William “Red” Whittaker, the firm’s chairman. The company will license lunar data, deliver payloads and perform on-the-surface services for space agencies, aerospace contractors, researchers, corporate marketers and the media. The company’s president, David Gump, earlier completed a NASA contract to advise the agency on how to return to the Moon, and also produced the first TV commercial filmed on the International Space Station. More information is available at www.astrobotictech.com.
Astrobotic media contact:
David Gump
412-682-3282
