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NASA 1,000 Days Away From First Robot on the Moon
While NASA's plans to return a human to the Moon may have died when budget cuts killed its Constellation program, the space administration reportedly intends to send the next best thing to the lunar surface: a humanoid. Spearheaded by engineer Stephen J. Altemus, NASA's Project M robot moon-walker mission conceivably involves launching "a humanoid-like machine" into space and then onto the Moon, according to the Daily Mail. While NASA's higher-ups clearly haven't been too enthusiastic about lunar expeditions, this foray would only cost a fraction of the price of a manned Moon mission -- $450 million instead of $150 billion.Project members believe they can accomplish the "guerrilla effort" moon mission within 1,000 days -- an impressive feat, indeed, due to the project's markedly limited budget. Project M is so strapped for cash that one engineer "even went to a hardware store to buy $80 worth of materials to enable him to test the fuel tank on a prototype aircraft."
In similar spacebot news, NASA is launching another humanoid helper into space this week. Although Robonaut 2's official responsibilities include menial tasks like sprucing up the shuttle Discovery, NASA definitely knows what it's doing in terms of design. An inordinately large number of robots are disturbingly creepy, but Robonaut 2 looks like a daring robot superhero. And, don't worry Robonaut: your current duties may seem boring and beneath you, but -- in just a few short years -- you'll be tearing up the moon's surface in that pristine, and never-before-used, pimped-out Moon rover.
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Comments
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Subscribe to commentswww.truegroundspeedNov 7th 2010 8:52AM
I suppose there's a purpose for putting legs, arms, and a head on a machine of investigation and exploration but I can't think of what it may be.
JeffNov 7th 2010 9:43AM
I tought that we wern't going to spend no more money on the space projects and Nasa. The Goverment don't have the money to spend and nither do we out of are taxs.
al schraderNov 7th 2010 10:46AM
@(verified) They already own a way to put people on the Moon, no new tax monies are required, they just don't know how to use it. Ok, here it is for free - (you tax payers owe me 150 billion dollars worth of favors). Take the shuttle main fuel tank/booster assembly, but don't attach the shuttle, instead attach the Lunar vehicle in its place. Then launch as usual....Alfred Schrader-
garytheprinterNov 7th 2010 2:32PM
@(Unverified) Maybe we need to spend more money on English classes for you...
Taxed Enough AlreadyNov 7th 2010 6:29PM
@(Unverified) I don't give a rat's patoote about NASA's budget or tax money used. I pay a ton of taxes for people who abuse drugs, abuse welfare, abuse food stamps, don't work, don't contribute, live in public housing, and are sucking the life out of this country (on my dime and the dimes of other hard working contributing Americans). As a taxpayer, I WANT NASA to have an existence.
ScottNov 7th 2010 7:42PM
We the people don't trust a dam word coming from nasa as it's true definition of the word nasa simple stands for Never A Straight Answer only what they want us to believe and the real truth has been hid from the public for way too many years now and must stop. We know UFO'S ARE REAL. I have seen several sightings all from a distance but in my mind I know what I saw. The world is hurting too much for any more crap other that how to live peacefully in harmony with the planet frist and ourselves second. Aren't you tired of living in slavery because this designed matrix we live in is just that!
John F.C. TaylorNov 7th 2010 9:48AM
#1, are you an adult? If so, how much education did you have? Or is it just that you're an extremely poor typist? Could it be that you deliberately made all those mistakes just to see if anyone's paying attention? I would disagree with you. We need to spend more money on NASA and future ventures into space. We've acquired so much knowledge in so many fields from going into space. To stop going would just slow are progress in advancing technology, medicine and so much more.
hjnidayNov 7th 2010 10:17AM
@Sunshine68 : I think you should take some of your own advice. Before belittling another person's education, you should realize your own impropper usage of vocabulary. It should be "our," not "are." At any rate, I tend to agree that while we have learned a great deal from space and there is potential to expand our knowledge, there are more pressing issues here on our own planet, in our own country, that need to be handled before we invest millions in space exploration.
JeffNov 7th 2010 9:51AM
I tought that we wern't going to spend no moremoney on the space projectsb and Nasa. The Goverment don't have the the money to spend and nithier do we out of are taxes
jbjg24mNov 7th 2010 10:30AM
@(Unverified) u need to learn how to spell
gbrt548Nov 7th 2010 3:46PM
Damn! All of you should shut off the PC and get a life!!!!
justin sayinNov 7th 2010 4:16PM
History channel inicates moon is actually an alien space-craft that has been observing us for eons. Robonaut 2 appears to be more sophisticated than previous lunar probes. Water has been detected there. It all appears to be coming together. The probe will introduce earthlings to the E.T.'s for the first time on December 21st.2012. We will meet them by televised transmission first, to ease the initial introduction. They will then transport to earth. Don't worry, by all accounts they come in Peace .
stewpidasso2Nov 7th 2010 4:18PM
nasa should use michael jacksons' idea of having a giant, 50 foot robot replica of himself wandering the desert... just adapt the jackson-bot to wander the moonscape and make it on a large enough scale that it can be seen from earth using a telescope... that would be awesome seeing the jackson-bot doing the moonwalk ON THE MOON from a telescope on my deck!
or build numerous celeb-bots doing double moon duty where they do some scientific exploration work and then battle it out with other celeb-bots when their fuel source is about to run out. yeah! have a chuck norris bot... a ronald reagan bot dressed as cowboys with colt's as big as schoolbuses gunning down some obama-bot giving a typical speech of gibberish from a ginormous teleprompter
i should be running NASA.
sugarbean1440Nov 7th 2010 8:58PM
that's a good idea they need to use robots to build a colony on the moon then the only thing we need to do is go.
papam11Nov 7th 2010 11:05PM
Shut NASA down. It's a huge, money sucking boondoggle.