Robotics Blog » astrobotics

Spirit Rover Update – Stuck Mars Rover

Dan — Fri, 29 May 2009 21:48:18 +0000

NASA is currently planning on imaging the underbody of the immobile rover to see just how badly Spirit is trapped in the sand.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will Map the Moon’s Surface for Manned Missions

Dan — Sat, 23 May 2009 16:20:45 +0000

Set to launch in June, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, will collect data about the moon in support of future manned missions.

NASA gives an overview of the mission,

Using a suite of seven instruments, LRO will help identify safe landing sites for future human explorers, locate potential resources, characterize the radiation environment and test new technology. LCROSS will seek a definitive answer about the presence of water ice at the lunar poles. LCROSS will use the spent second stage Atlas Centaur rocket in an unprecedented way that will culminate with two spectacular impacts on the moon’s surface.

Below are animations of how the journey to the moon and how the LRO will analyze Luna’s surface.

Here’s another one on how the LRO will orbit the moon and scan the lunar surface. It is amazing how much the orbiter will be able to scan in so little time

Spirit Rover Update – Still Stuck, But NASA is Working on it.

Dan — Thu, 21 May 2009 12:26:19 +0000

Stuck Spirit Mars Rover receives good news about her middle wheel. Diagnostics indicate it may not be jammed after all. Opportunity snaps a picture of herself.

Mars Rover Stuck in Deep Sand, says NASA

Dan — Sat, 16 May 2009 22:20:27 +0000

Earlier this month, Spirit, one of NASA's Mars rovers, became stuck in deep sand. NASA engineers are working to find the best method of freeing the aging rover.

NASA’s Lunar Exploration Robot Prototype – Scarab the Moon Drilling Rover

Dan — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:28:18 +0000

NASA's Scarab Prototype in Testing

NASA’s Lunar rover prototype, Scarab, is designed to carry a drill and do exploratory drilling on the Moon. The rover is specially designed for the Moon’s surface and includes sophisticated tires designed to operate on the (pressure-less) Lunar surface and achieve high traction.

The drill can take samples of the Moons surface up to about one meter in depth. Once the sample is drilled, the rover crushes the sample and tests it with on-board lab equipment to determine how good the site may be for a future Moon base. The samples are tested for minerals as well as gases.

Watch this interesting video about Scarab’s mission and how it was designed.

Lawn-Mower Sized Robots could Help Build a Lunar Base

Dan — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 03:18:27 +0000