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Monthly Archives: March 2010
Beating the boiling temperatures of the lunar day requires both good insulation to reject exterior radiation and an internal system to wick heat away from the electrically powered components that generate heat inside the robot. The Astrobotic rover has several composite parts that are highly heat-conductive to route internal heat to the radiator for dumping… {read more}
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The team is progressing on the new technologies to be incorporated in the third prototype, fabricating composite parts and putting components through deep-freeze tests, as shown in this new overview video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdPjlp9t78Q
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The easy part may actually be getting to the moon.
Surviving there through a temperature swing of a scorching 120 degrees Celsius at high noon to a beyond frigid low of -185 degrees Celsius at night is another story.
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The two composite sides of the rover’s battery pack will interlock, using teeth on the upper portion to latch into openings in the base. This will clamp the lithium ion cells from A123 into position to provide the 273 W-hr capacity the rover will use when it passes through shadow (during flight to the Moon… {read more}
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PITTSBURGH, PA – March 15, 2010 – Astrobotic Technology today announced that it has vastly increased the amount of payload that it can deliver to the Moon for researchers and marketers, as part of its maiden expedition in 2012 to win the Google Lunar X Prize. “We will carry 240 pounds to the lunar surface… {read more}
Astrobotic Technology will carry 130 lbs. (60 kg) to the Moon for researchers and marketers as part of its maiden expedition in 2012 to win the Google Lunar X Prize. Science instruments, prototype exploration devices and commercial packages will be carried at $700,000 per pound, plus a $250,000 fee per payload to cover the engineering… {read more}
