Rover readied for photography session
March 11, 2010
The third prototype rover from the Astrobotic Technology team recently gained a mock camera and antenna head, making it nearly complete and ready for high-end photography. Yesterday it was posed in front of a green screen so that it can later be combined via Photoshop in combination with actual Apollo surface imagery and a rendering of the new design for the Astrobotic spacecraft / lander. Read More →
New NASA budget to accelerate space careers
February 18, 2010
NASA’s top education official has noted an important upside to the agency’s revolutionary new budget. Because the new plan fosters entrepreneurial exploration projects, young professionals at these new space companies will take leadership roles far earlier in their careers than they would at old-line aerospace companies. Dr. Joyce Winterton, the agency’s assistant administrator for education, made the comment yesterday at a meeting of the education and public outreach advisory committee of the NASA Advisory Council attended by Astrobotic Technology. Her comment was part of a talk on providing... [Read more]
Oakland firm refines rover designed to land on lunar soil, collect $20M
July 23, 2009
By Mike Cronin TRIBUNE-REVIEW Tuesday, July 21, 2009 Executives of Astrobotic Technology in Oakland believe they are a bit closer to winning a $20 million race to the moon. Company Chairman William “Red” L. Whittaker, a Carnegie Mellon University robotics professor, and his colleagues on Monday showed off their third prototype of a robot they plan to send to the moon in May 2011. The winner of the Google Lunar X PRIZE awarded by a California nonprofit that encourages innovation will be the first robot to land on the moon, travel 500 meters on the lunar surface and send images and... [Read more]
Oakland robotics company shoots for the moon
July 13, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009 By David Templeton, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Competition might not be the mother of invention, but it certainly has inspired robotic innovation at Astrobotic Technology Inc. The space-age robotics company in Oakland already has announced its intent to win the $20 million Google X Prize by being the first to send a mobile robot to the moon and beam back to Earth video images, possibly of the Apollo 11 landing site. Now Astrobotic has announced that it will compete for a $500,000 prize from NASA with a robot it hopes will dig and dump the most simulated lunar dirt during a 30-minute... [Read more]
Astrobotic creates robot to win NASA Moon excavation competition
July 6, 2009
PITTSBURGH, PA – July 6, 2009 – Astrobotic Technology Inc. announced today that it has begun testing a robot designed to win a NASA competition for excavating simulated Moon dirt. The NASA Regolith Excavation Challenge, set for Oct. 17-18 at the NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, will award $500,000 for the robot that can dig and dump the most simulated lunar dirt during a 30-minute workout. (“Regolith” is the technical term for the soil covering a planet, moon or asteroid.) The Astrobotic robot, developed in collaboration with the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University,... [Read more]
Astrobotic Chairman elected to National Academy of Engineering — Honored for pioneering robotics work
February 6, 2009
PITTSBURGH, PA – February 6, 2009 – The nation’s most prestigious organization of engineering experts today announced the election of Dr. William “Red” Whittaker to its ranks. The National Academy of Engineering honored Dr. Whittaker, the chairman and chief technical officer of Astrobotic Technology Inc., for “pioneering contributions to fielded, mobile, autonomous robots.” The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine in Washington, D.C., provide impartial review and advice on important issues to Congress and the Administration. Dr. Whittaker is founder of the Field... [Read more]
NASA UAV test pilot; distinguished astronaut; two technology investors join Astrobotic Technology Board of Directors
November 18, 2008
Google Lunar X Prize competitor plans return to Apollo 11 site and commercial polar missions PITTSBURGH, PA - November 18, 2008 - Astrobotic Technology Inc., which will pioneer the lunar frontier with commercial robotic services, today announced that four leading space and management experts have been elected to its Board of Directors. “Together, these new board members span an enormous range of talents,” said Astrobotic CEO John Kohut, formerly a senior space manager at Raytheon Co. “Their backgrounds include top corporate management, investments and start-ups, senior NASA... [Read more]
MSNBC/Space.com - Private Firm Reveals Ambitious Moon Mission Plan
October 31, 2008
MSNBC/Space.com - A private group planning to launch a moon rover to the famed Apollo 11 landing site in a bid to win a $20 million prize announced an ambitious plan Thursday to send five more spacecraft to explore the lunar poles. The Pittsburgh, Pa.-based firm Astrobotic Technology, Inc., led by Carnegie Mellon University roboticist William “Red” Whittaker, announced plans to launch its first rover to NASA’s Tranquility Base in May 2010 to win the Google Lunar X Prize competition, the company announced Thursday. Astrobotic is one of 14 teams currently in the running for the... [Read more]
Astrobotic announces series of Moon landing missions, expeditions to build lunar data library
October 30, 2008
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL - October 30, 2008 - At a meeting of worldwide Moon exploration experts, Astrobotic Technology Inc. today unveiled its plans for a series of robotic expeditions to build a lunar data library. “Astrobotic will robotically explore the Moon’s high-interest areas on a commercial basis, collecting information required to design future outposts and to answer scientific questions about the Moon and Earth,” said President David Gump. “Our data library also will point the way to utilizing lunar energy and mineral resources to lower the cost of exploration and eventually... [Read more]
CNN - Google launches new space race to the moon
September 22, 2008
(CNN) – When Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon, he uttered unforgettable words. But the next visitor to roam the lunar landscape may send back e-mail instead. One of the teams competing in the Google Lunar X Prize is considering this rover concept for the mission. Welcome to a new kind of space race, where the earthly guest will be a machine and the goal is as much exploration as seeking out new business ventures. The quest is part of the Google Lunar X Prize, which will put $20 million into the hands of the first privately funded team that can land a rover... [Read more]
