[ad_1]
Britain is set to launch a robotic ‘space spider’ to the Moon in 2021, the first time a traveling rover has been sent to explore a distant world.
The small probe – called Asagumo – was designed by London robotics experts Spacebit and is expected to travel to the lunar surface with NASA next summer.
This will be the first time a British rover has ever visited the moon, and Spacebit engineers have chosen legs over wheels so they can navigate their way over rough terrain and crawl through underground lava tubes to see s ‘they could be habitable for humans.
Many experts now believe that lava tubes – tunnel-shaped chambers in rock created by lava rivers billions of years ago – could provide natural shelters and are therefore a good place to install the first colonies.
The Moon is a dangerous environment for astronauts, as temperatures can drop below -274F (-170C) during lunar night, and the surface is bombarded by solar radiation and micro-meteorites.
Although the largest lava tubes on Earth are only 60 feet wide, on the Moon they can be hundreds of feet wide and could be sealed to contain breathable air.
The rocky roof also provides a ready-made shield against harmful radiation and the temperature inside drops to just -4F to -22 (-20C to -30C), so the tubes can be heated to a level comfortable.
One tube, discovered in the Marius Hills area, is at least 1,000 meters wide and high and could house small towns. There may be a large underground network, from the time when volcanic activity was rampant on the Moon.
Spacebit CEO Pavlo Tanasyuk said designing a rover with legs is crucial to whether lava tubes are useful for habitation.
[ad_2]
Source link