If we talk about lunar exploration we immediately think of the Artemis programbut the United States is not the only country pushing towards the colonization of our satellite. China also has a program underway and they just showed off a new lunar rover with four wheels and a humanoid upper body. Your job will be to assist in the collection of samples, transportation and deployment of instruments, something like a porter mason.
What exactly is it. It is a robot weighing about 100kg with a lower part with four wheels and a humanoid torso with two arms on the upper part. It is not a typical scientific rover, but Its main function is to act as a carrierpicking up and placing different objects and instruments in their positions. The hybrid design, with wheels to move and arms to manipulate, responds to a specific need: on the Moon there are no operators who can move equipment, connect sensors or install instruments. Someone has to do it, and that someone is going to be this robot.
Technical challenges. The robot is equipped with AI systems, remote vision and 3D mapping to be able to function in a totally unknown environment. The team that developed it, led by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, has South China Morning Post that the main challenge is to ensure that both arms move in a coordinated and precise manner to manipulate fragile instruments. On Earth it is already a complex task, but here you will have to do it in a hostile environment with extreme temperatures, uneven terrain and no one who can repair a possible breakdown.
To operate, the robot is powered by solar energy and is designed to operate for two years on the lunar surface, which implies that it will spend 24 lunar nights, each of more than 14 Earth days. During these periods, as it does not receive sunlight, the robot will have to enter a hibernation state and wake up at the beginning of a new day.
The mission. The robot is part of the Chang’e-8 missionscheduled for 2028-2029. It will be the eighth mission of the series Chang’e, which China has been using since 2007 to progressively explore the Moon: first orbiters, then landers, rovers and sample collection. The goal of the Chang’e-8 mission is to deliver materials and begin preparing the ground for a permanent presence at the lunar south pole. That’s why the robot is not only designed to explore, but also works.
Chang’e-8 is a key part of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), the joint project of China and Russia to build a base on the Moon using 3D printing techniques.
Why the south pole. The choice of location is not accidental. The lunar south pole has great strategic importance for space agencies because It is where reserves of water ice have been discovered in its craters. That ice has the potential to become fuel, oxygen and water for any permanent base. Whoever arrives first, learns to navigate the terrain and installs more instruments will have a huge advantage. That is why both Chang’e-8 and Artemis III go to the same region.
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