NX Express Posted November 2, 2010 Share #1 Posted November 2, 2010 For $150 billion, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration could have sent astronauts back to the Moon. The Obama administration judged that too expensive, and in September, Congress agreed to cancel the program. For a fraction of that — less than $200 million, along with about $250 million for a rocket — NASA engineers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston say they can safely send a humanoid robot to the Moon. And they say they could accomplish that in a thousand days. The idea, known as Project M, is almost a guerrilla effort within NASA, cooked up a year ago by Stephen J. Altemus, the chief engineer at Johnson. He tapped into discretionary money, pulled in engineers to work on it part time, and horse-traded with companies and other NASA units to undertake preliminary planning and tests. “We’re doing impossible things with really very little, if any, money whatsoever,” Mr. Altemus said. A humanoid dextrous robot — at least the top half — already exists: Robonaut 2, developed by NASA and General Motors, is packed on the shuttle Discovery, scheduled for liftoff on Wednesday. Bound for the International Space Station, it will be the first humanoid robot in space. It is to help with housekeeping chores at the space station as NASA learns how astronauts and robots can work together. Eventually, an upgraded Robonaut is to take part in spacewalks. Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/science/space/02robot.html?ref=science Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lance25 Posted November 2, 2010 Share #2 Posted November 2, 2010 It's absolutely amazing what we'll pay for... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted November 2, 2010 Share #3 Posted November 2, 2010 Will this moon landing be a hoax too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Messino Posted November 2, 2010 Share #4 Posted November 2, 2010 This will accomplish NOTHING... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metsfan Posted November 3, 2010 Share #5 Posted November 3, 2010 Their primary mission is to study lunar geology. Manned mission woulda been better, but this is a great opportunity for advancing robotics and remote manipulation of machines. Keep in mind that about half the technology we take for granted today is due to things developed by the government. You like aerodynamic stuff, thank NASA & its predecessors. - A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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