Insightful Introduction

For many generations, man has looked upon the heavens and speculated on what lays ahead, above, beyond. The first step to living among the stars is to conquer the moon. Yet, we cannot develop a base unless we can live there, and before we can live there, we need water. Water would be about $72,000 a gallon to transport to the moon, which is not cost-effective for large populations or long-term situations. If we find water, however, the cost will drop significantly. But where will water be in the barren wasteland of our natural satellite?

Scientists speculate that water may be available on its south pole in the Aitken Basin. But that isn’t the only reason the south pole would be great real estate. Its close location to us makes it easier to travel or send signals there than to other planets. Plus, a large impact crater could have unveiled the moon’s upper mantle, giving insights on its history.

Water might be available on certain parts of the moon, but for a long-term voyage of collecting rock samples, robots would be better suited for the job than people. They don’t require sustenance, and I would rather not pay over one million dollars getting water up to the moon. We already have experience with rovers exploring the surface of Mars. However, our robot is not designed for simply exploring the moon. It needs to be different to fulfill different tasks.

We have created our own robot model that has treads, a drill for finding water, a claw for collecting samples, a depth sensor, and a camera. It also includes another set of treads that can move up or down, depending on the terrain, that are modeled on the rescue robot Packbot.
Enjoy exploring our website!

Summary of Links:

Insightful Introduction – Describes the scope of the project and why it is important.

Lunar Landscape – Describes the moon’s surface, particularly the Aitken Basin, and what challenges it presents for this project.

Existing Equipment – Describes the machines already used in space missions, including the MER robots used on Mars and the Lunar Rovers used on the moon, and identifies why they would be insufficient to meet the needs of this mission.

Recommended Robot – Describes a robotic system that we feel could be used to accomplish the task, including its energy source, navigation, tracking systems, and moisture testing equipment.

Builder’s Bibliography – Lists the bibliographical sources for this project.

The People and the Process – Introduces the web site team and describes the process they used to address this assignment (additional information – not to be counted in judging the 6 pages)