New design overcomes intense lunar heat

The third prototype for Astrobotic Technology’s lunar robot has innovations that will enable it to survive the blistering heat at the Moon’s equator, which is the robot’s destination in May 2011 when it will visit the Apollo 11 site. Noon at the equator is hotter than boiling water: 270 degrees F. The robot beats the heat by keeping a cool side aimed away from the Sun to radiate heat off to the black sky. It travels toward or away from the sun (generally east or west) without turning its radiator into the light. Only the solar cells on the hot side ever face the sun. The robot can... [Read more]

3D Video from the Moon

Stereo views from the Apollo expeditions drew the attention of these Carnegie Mellon students at a recent showcase event The Astrobotic robot heading to Apollo 11 will capture the “magnificent desolation” described by Buzz Aldrin in both high definition and 3D – the first planetary robot to accomplish either feat. Twin HD cameras will give armchair explorers back on Earth the opportunity to see the Moon with the clarity and depth perception enjoyed by the 12 astronauts who walked its strange surface. Click on images for large versions The image above is the Earth captured during the... [Read more]

Astrobotic to License Access to Lunar Data Library

Astrobotic will execute robotic lunar missions to collect exclusive data needed by space agencies and aerospace firms planning Moon expeditions. Accurate lunar surface data are key to cutting costs, accelerating schedules and enhancing safety. Planners need a wide variety of information collected on the surface to enhance and confirm the less-detailed orbital observations of today’s lunar satellites. Astrobotic intends to collect these data sets starting in 2011 through a series of robotic missions to those areas on the Moon of high interest. Astrobotic’s missions will be self-financed,... [Read more]

Competing for the Google Lunar X Prize

Announcement of the Google Lunar X-Prize catalyzed the formation of Astrobotic Technology. The founders decided to pursue the Google challenge as the kick-off mission in a series of expeditions to robotically pioneer the lunar frontier. The Google race can be won at any time, by the first team to reach the Moon and complete a substantial list of tasks. The winner gets $20 million if the mission takes place before December 31, 2012; at this point, the first prize drops to $15 million through December 2014 and then terminates. The second place team gets $5 million and another $5 million is available... [Read more]

The World Heads to the Moon

The major space-faring nations of the world are heading to the Moon with rovers and crewed expeditions.  China and India are targeting the Moon for mineral and energy  resources to benefit their citizens. NASA has broad objectives, from research to learning how to mount a Mars expedition. Most nations plan to concentrate their exploration on the Moon’s poles, which offer two valuable near-term esources: near-continuous sunlight for electrical power, and water. In the Moon’s equatorial regions, robots and astronauts face a daunting two-week night that’s colder than liquid nitrogen. It’s... [Read more]

Robots for racing and science

Astrobotic’s Chairman and CTO, Red Whittaker, is the founder of the Field Robotics Center at Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute. Field robotics comprises machines designed to operate in unstructured or unmapped environments, as opposed to robots created for repetitive tasks in well-defined factory settings. Dr. Whittaker has designed and operationally tested robots that walked into volcanoes in Antarctica and Alaska, harvested crops in the Midwest, mapped underground mines in Pennsylvania and driven through urban traffic in California. He has developed a knowledge base that enables... [Read more]