Moon (Credit: NASA)

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ASTROBOTIC PRESS RELEASE

Astrobotic Technology Inc. announced today that it has begun testing a robot designed to win a NASA competition for excavating simulated Moon dirt.

The NASA Regolith Excavation Challenge, set for Oct. 17-18 at the NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, will award $500,000 for the robot that can dig and dump the most simulated lunar dirt during a 30-minute workout. (”Regolith” is the technical term for the soil covering a planet, moon or asteroid.)

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Diane Mattingly of Carnegie Mellon University describes the battery development she is doing for Atrobiotic, one of the competitors in the Google Lunar X Prize competition.

Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute
Press Release

Small robots the size of riding mowers could prepare a safe landing site for NASA’s Moon outpost, according to a NASA-sponsored study prepared by Astrobotic Technology Inc. with technical assistance from Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute.

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PRESS RELEASE

The nation’s most prestigious organization of engineering experts today announced the election of Dr. William “Red” Whittaker to its ranks. The National Academy of Engineering honored Dr. Whittaker, the chairman and chief technical officer of Astrobotic Technology Inc., for “pioneering contributions to fielded, mobile, autonomous robots.”

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Astrobotic to License Access to Lunar Data Library David Gump “Astrobotic will create a ‘Digital Moon’ by developing an integrated lunar library of company-collected data combined with information from open sources. Data types will range from radiation and soil characteristics to the performance of various components and materials in the lunar environment. Data products will range from raw collections to highly processed information solutions that meet our customers’ needs…. “The […]

Astrobiotic Press Release

PITTSBURGH, PA – November 18, 2008 – Astrobotic Technology Inc., which will pioneer the lunar frontier with commercial robotic services, today announced that four leading space and management experts have been elected to its Board of Directors.

“Together, these new board members span an enormous range of talents,” said Astrobotic CEO John Kohut, formerly a senior space manager at Raytheon Co. “Their backgrounds include top corporate management, investments and start-ups, senior NASA leadership, robotics and international relations experience.”

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Air & Space Magazine has a nice feature story on William “Red” Whittaker and his Astrobiotic Technology team, which is aiming to win the Google Lunar X Prize.