''Scarab'' is a 2010 robotic
lunar rover
A lunar rover or Moon rover is a space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of the Moon. The Apollo Program's Lunar Roving Vehicle was driven on the Moon by members of three American crews, Apollo 15, 16, and 17. Other rov ...
prototype designed to assist astronauts take rock and mineral samples.
''Scarab'' is capable of autonomously traversing in dark polar craters using laser mapping to navigate and carries a science payload. The science payload is capable of taking a core sample from 1 m depth and analyzing it for water and gasses, and also has an 80 cm bucket wheel for collecting lunar samples. The rover has a mass of 312 kg.
''Scarab'' will also be used to test varying mobility techniques and lunar wheels. It is being developed by the
Robotics Institute
The Robotics Institute (RI) is a division of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. A June 2014 article in ''Robotics Business Review'' magazine calls it "the world's best robo ...
of
Carnegie Mellon University, with support by
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 ...
.
See also
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LORAX (robot)
''The Lorax'' is a children's book written by Dr. Seuss and published in 1971. It chronicles the plight of the environment and the Lorax, the titular character, who "speaks for the trees" and confronts the Once-ler, a business magnate who causes ...
*
TriDAR
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Robotic exploration of the Moon
The physical exploration of the Moon began when '' Luna 2'', a space probe launched by the Soviet Union, made an impact on the surface of the Moon on September 14, 1959. Prior to that the only available means of exploration had been observatio ...
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Lunar rover
A lunar rover or Moon rover is a space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of the Moon. The Apollo Program's Lunar Roving Vehicle was driven on the Moon by members of three American crews, Apollo 15, 16, and 17. Other rov ...
References
External links
Lunar Rover Initiativepage
Carnegie Mellon University
Lunar rovers
Robots of the United States
Four-wheeled robots
2010 robots
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