Robots on the Moon

Posted by Erin, the RobotGrrl on Monday, September 1st, 2008

Recently I’ve been thinking about swarm robotics and the potential they could have on some of our other planets. Do we really know everything there is to know about the Moon? We have lots of data… but are there underlying details that are still hidden?

Instead of spending trillions of dollars on a gigantor research project, a few billion dollars could send some robots to the moon. The robots could have the ability to drill, evaluate the dirt, and ‘laser beam’ rocks like the MER. It will also have cameras on it I’m kind of envisioning about… 2.5 times the size of Sojourner.

About 12 of these robots could be placed on the Moon. When one of the robots find results that are ‘interesting’, a few robots that are close to it will become closer, evaluating where else the interesting results lie. Each of the 12 robots could have different ‘accessories’ on it too, so that they’re all not evaluating the same thing.

Course, it could also be applied to other planets- like Mars, or maybe they could be sent out to Triton. That would be kinda cool!

It would be simple, and autonomous. The results obtained could potentially trigger new information, which could lead to a more precise robot, which could lead to new discoveries.
Sounds like I have even more research to do!

Posted in: Other, Projects.
Tags: idea, JPL, mars, MER, moon, NASA, robots, triton

3 Responses to “Robots on the Moon”

1. Thom Blake Says:
   September 2nd, 2008 at 7:51 AM

   We’re whalers on the moon
   We carry a harpoon
   But there ain’t no whales
   So we tell tall tales
   And sing a whaling tune

2. Ron Says:
   September 2nd, 2008 at 11:17 AM

   It sounds like you’re talking about the Google Lunar X Prize. The big issue (of many) is getting the robot in space. The launch costs are super-expensive; even the “cut rate” stuff is in the millions.

   Take a look at some of my thoughts here:

   http://sybarite.us/puertorico/2007/11/26/ham-radio-and-the-google-lunar-x-prize/

   and here:

   http://sybarite.us/puertorico/2007/11/02/the-r-prize/

3. Erin, the RobotGrrl Says:
   September 2nd, 2008 at 12:43 PM

   Lol Thom
   Ron- I’m not talking about the Google Lunar X Prize Just a project in general for NASA …or anyone that has the money. For the Google Lunar X Prize you need tons of money, thereby eliminating ~70% of the people that are able to do it (myself included)

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