In a new race to the moon , a young Pittsburgh firm has completed a prototype robot to prospect for ice at the lunar poles. Astrobotic Technology unveiled its Polaris moon rover last month for delivery to NASA next summer.
Propelling Astrobotic's work, says the company's Jason Calaiaro, is the Google Lunar X PRIZE, an international competition offering $30 million to the first privately-funded team to safely land a robot on the moon that can travel 500 meters and send back video, images and data. (There are 26 teams competing worldwide, and Pennsylvania has two: Astrobotic and the Penn State Lunar Lion Team.)
Such a robot could cost as much as $100 million to produce, says Calaiaro, so realizing a business model that supports the research and development is essential, and “not just because it's a cool thing to do. Though it's an incredibly cool thing to do.”
So Astrobotic has won $3.6 million in nine lunar contracts from NASA since 2008, when it spun off from Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute. The young company currently employs six and is adding four new positions, with another two likely in the first quarter of 2013.
Equally significant, as of January 1, Astrobotic is moving off the CMU campus to its own 5,000-square-foot space. “We can build a rover to put on the moon in that space,” says Calaiaro. “Its really a tremendous step to be able to set up a sustainable enterprise like this with the lofty goal of landing on the moon.”
Source: Jason Calaiaro, Astrobotic
Writer: Elise Vider