It has always been said that a dog is man’s best friend. Now it seems that this is not limited to real dogs. as assembled Space, NASA may be preparing to send robotic dogs on its lunar missions. Thus, the Artemis Mission will not leave humanity alone.
If you have a dog or have spent time watching them, you know some of their favorite hobbies such as digging, jumping, and exploring unknown places. Well it seems that NASA will try to replicate the same behavior in its Artemis robot dogs.and will serve as a companion and tool for future astronauts.
LEAP is a robot dog concept and an abbreviation for Legged Exploration of the Aristarchus Plateau. The Aristarchus Plateau – translated into Spanish – is a rocky elevation on the lunar surface. This area is being studied by ESA.and one that they have long wanted to explore.
Man’s best friend goes to the moon thanks to NASA
To send its robotic dogs to the Moon, ESA will use the European Large Logistics Lander (EL3). This ship will be responsible for delivering cargo and experiments to the lunar surface. its first mission is expected to take place later this decade.. Of course, inside it, LEAP will travel to the Moon, where it will be tasked with exploring the region.
LEAP, for its part, has the shape of a four-legged creature. While he doesn’t exactly look like a dog, he gives us an idea of what he could bring to NASA and ESA missions in the future.
With the rover, we can explore key features for studying the geological history and evolution of the Moon, such as ejecta around craters, recent impact sites, and collapsed lava tubes where material could not have been altered by terrestrial weathering and other processes.
Patrick Bambach, engineer at the Solar System Research Institute. Max Planck in Germany.
Secondly, The design of LEAP was inspired by another famous robotic dog named ANYmal., developed by ANYbotics. The latter, for its part, has the ability to fall and stand up, climb steep slopes, dig channels in the ground, and turn over stones with its feet and check what is below. These are the basic basics of what a NASA/ESA robot will need to explore the moon.
New generation of lunar exploration
Rovers have been an important tool in the exploration of other regions of space. An example of this is Curiosity, which studies and extracts information from the surface of Mars. Currently, the advent of LEAP robotic dogs would extend these possibilities much further..
However, NASA and ESA offices are still quite damp. Yes indeed this type of robot would have already been tested in a simulated scenariostudy its possibilities and limitations, taking into account the conditions of gravity and other properties of the moon.
As for its dimensions, the team expects the LEAP to weigh 50kg by weight.one fifth of this amount is for scientific expenses.
Traditional rovers have made great discoveries on the Moon and Mars, but they have limitations. It is especially difficult to explore terrain with loose soil, large rocks, or slopes over 15 degrees with wheels. For example, the Spirit rover’s mission ended when it got stuck in the sand.
Patrick Bambach, engineer at the Solar System Research Institute. Max Planck in Germany.
Source: Hiper Textual
