Terrifying 1965 PDAD humanoid used to test spacesuits will be offered at auction

Before Neil Armstrong took one giant leap on the moon, Nasa looked to a robot for help with testing the crew's spacesuits. The 1965 PDAD (Power Driven Articulated Dummy) robot simulated 35 basic human motions and used sensors to gather data on how the human body would act in pressurized suits - but it never fulfilled its mission due to a tendency to leak oil. Now, the metallic astronaut is set to be sold along with 100 other'Remarkable Rarities' from RR Auction, who has marked Nasa's reject robot with an 80,000 price tag. 'Only two of the test robot's were produced -- the other is on display and owned by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum,' Robert Livingston, RR Auction executive vice president, in a statement to collectSpace. 'This [robot] was purchased as surplus from the University of Maryland.' The auction will be hosted online starting September 15 and finish with a live sale at the Royal Sonesta Boston on September.