Astrobotic Technology is strengthened by relationships with Carnegie Mellon University and with other institutions that are contributing to the company’s success.

Carnegie Mellon University has deep experience in intelligent mobile robots. Its experts have built two prototypes of a lunar rover that have undergone field tests and are designing a third.  A Carnegie Mellon intelligent robot won the 2007 Urban Challenge for driverless cars able to navigate city traffic, sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.  Earlier, one of its exploration robots prowled the Antarctic ice using its own intelligence to recognize meteorites mixed in with ordinary rocks, and another tested ways to search for planetary life during field trials in the Atacama Desert.

SpaceWorks Commercial, having a history of examining new economic endeavors such as suborbital/orbital space tourism, lunar propellant production, and commercial transportation services to the International Space Station (ISS), is applying its expertise to look at the revenue potential of robotic lunar missions. SpaceWorks Commercial is assisting the Astrobotic team in overall business and economic planning. The firm is examining the first mission to win the Google Lunar X PRIZE and the business case for follow-on commercial services to the lunar surface.  MORE