Honeybee Robotics Spacecraft Mechanisms Corporation is a small spacecraft technology and

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrate ...

company Erik Baard,
Alligators Below City? Try Robo-Inchworms
''The New York Times'' BUSINESS: DIARY; November 10, 2002 headquartered in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, with offices in

Altadena, California Altadena () ("Alta", Spanish language, Spanish for "Upper", and "dena" from Pasadena, California, Pasadena) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the Verdugo Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 ...

and Longmont, Colorado. It was established in 1983 by Stephen Gorevan and Chris Chapman. In June 2017, Honeybee Robotics was acquired by Ensign-Bickford Industries. In January 2022, Honeybee was sold to Blue Origin.

Products

Honeybee has particular expertise in developing and operating small mechanical tools used on Mars missions. Some of the robotic devices it has developed and successfully demonstrated on

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

include: * The

Rock Abrasion Tool The Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) is a grinding and brushing installation on NASA’s twin Mars Exploration Rovers, ''Spirit'' (MER-A) and ''Opportunity'' (MER-B), which landed on Mars in January 2004. It was designed, developed and continues to be op ...

(RAT) instruments used on both

Mars Exploration Rover NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission was a robotic space mission involving two Mars rovers, '' Spirit'' and '' Opportunity'', exploring the planet Mars. It began in 2003 with the launch of the two rovers to explore the Martian surface ...

s * The Icy Soil Acquisition Device (ISAD), sometimes called the "Phoenix Scoop", a soil scoop and a precision ice-sampling tool successfully demonstrated on the 2008 Mars

Phoenix Lander ''Phoenix'' was an uncrewed space probe that landed on the surface of Mars on May 25, 2008, and operated until November 2, 2008. ''Phoenix'' was operational on Mars for sols ( days). Its instruments were used to assess the local habitabilit ...

mission * The Sample Manipulation System and Dust Removal Tool used on the

Mars Science Laboratory Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011, which successfully landed ''Curiosity'', a Mars rover, in Gale Crater on August 6, 2012. The overall objectives include investigati ...

mission, which landed in August 2012 In addition, they were developing tools that would be used to live and work on the moon as part of

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

Constellation program The Constellation program (abbreviated CxP) was a crewed spaceflight program developed by NASA, the space agency of the United States, from 2005 to 2009. The major goals of the program were "completion of the International Space Station" and a " ...

. They are now helping design instruments for NASA's

VIPER The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...

rover. Honeybee develops systems for future missions to Mars,K. Zacny, G. Paulsen, K. Davis, E. Mumm, and S. Gorevan
Honeybee Robotics Planetary Sample Acquisition, Transfer and Processing Technologies
presented at Mars Sample Return 2008, Lunar and Planetary Science Institute

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

, the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, two Jovian moons, and asteroid and comet sample return, among others. They worked with

Bigelow Aerospace Bigelow Aerospace is an American aeronautics and outer space technology company which manufactures and develops expandable space station modules. Bigelow Aerospace was founded by Robert Bigelow in 1998, and is based in North Las Vegas, Nevada. ...

to develop a preliminary design for a

solar array A photovoltaic system, also PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to absorb and ...

deployment mechanism that was used on the solar arrays of their

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

inflatable space habitat. Terrestrial projects include developing mechanisms, installations, and systems for a broad array of clients including

Con Edison Consolidated Edison, Inc., commonly known as Con Edison (stylized as conEdison) or ConEd, is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States, with approximately $12 billion in annual revenues as of 2017, and over $62 ...

, the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

, and architects

Diller Scofidio + Renfro Diller has several uses including: People with the surname *Barry Diller (b. 1942), American businessman *Burgoyne Diller Burgoyne A. Diller (January 13, 1906 – January 30, 1965) was an American abstract painter. Many of his best-known w ...

. In December, 2022, NASA awarded Honeybee Robotics a contract to provide several systems for the upcoming

Mars Sample Return A Mars sample-return (MSR) mission is a proposed mission to collect rock and dust samples on Mars and sample-return mission, return them to Earth. Such a mission would allow more extensive analysis than that allowed by onboard sensors. The thr ...

mission. These include the Capture, Containment, and Retrieval System (CCRS), Earth Entry System (EES), and Spin Eject Mechanism (SEM).

References

External links

*
Mars robot PDF

{{Authority control Aerospace companies of the United States Robotics companies of the United States Technology companies established in 1983 Companies based in Brooklyn