A New Approach to Lunar Robots

The current development of particular robots for NASA represents a methodical shift in how some Lunar or Martian vehicles are designed and how the related components or systems are included to support vehicle operation. Carnegie Mellon University and Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic are working on a lunar robot for NASA's Lunar Surface and Instrumentation and Technology Payload program, or LSITP, that is small, fast, solar-powered and will not be teleoperated nor radiation-hardened, which is quite a change from more risk-adverse prior methods. The more affordable yet dynamic approach of constructing the so-called MoonRanger is a shift from past rovers that were behemoth in size, protected from radiation and very slow, says William "Red" Whittaker, director of Carnegie Mellon University's (CMU's) Field Robotics Center, who is leading the technical development and construction of the MoonRanger. The rover will have fully autonomous operations and will provide high-fidelity 3D maps of the ice fields on the moon's south pole. The robot will be equipped with a special instrument with an optical laser designed to help guide the robot in the dark, as well as measure the ice fields and map the terrain of the pole.