Picture of the Week: Fetch, Rover July 3, 2008
Posted by Nick Azer in : Google Lunar X Prize, Integration, Mooncast, MoonPop, Odyssey Moon, Picture of the Week, private sector , trackback
In a little toss to WALL-E‘s opening this past week, the Picture of the Week is a mock-up of what a Google Lunar X Prize rover might end up looking like (EDIT: See comments for the full skinny, but the good folks at Odyssey Moon Ltd. note this is an actual prototype, with the photo being from their media conference about being named the first Lunar X prize team. Thank you Mr. Richards for the comment and the further details :) ). Such a rover would have to be capable of completing a ‘Mooncast‘, consisting of 360ยบ photos, both HD and near-real time video, and transmission of specific data in order for the competing group to earn the $20 million prize. Additional $5 million prizes can be earned by coming in second and/or completing additional challenges, such as roving certain distances and surviving a frigid lunar night.
I personally find the giant model of the moon there to left of it almost as exciting as anything else. Put me in the same room as that thing, and I’d be all over it.
Comments»
Nick, this is a picture from our media conference announcing Odyssey Moon as the first official team competing for the Google Lunar X PRIZE. That rover isn’t a mock-up; it’s a real working NASA prototype called “K-10 Red” that our partner company Optech has collaborated on. The square “head” is an Optech scanning 3D laser (lidar) sensor that allows the robot to “see”.
See the rover in field tests in the Canadian arctic at: http://ti.arc.nasa.gov/projects/haughton_field/
Thanks for designating this your pic of the week!
Bob Richards
CEO, Odyssey Moon Ltd.
http://www.odysseymoon.com