The nation’s first moon rover, or Roo-ver, will gather and analyse fine lunar soil as NASA prepares for the first crewed landing since 1972.
A robot that resembles a microwave mounted on salad-spinner wheels will be Australia’s first lunar rover, charged with analysing sticky alien soil to pave the way for human habitation on the moon.
Water, oxygen, methane and other chemical components of the regolith could one day be stripped and repurposed into drinking water or rocket fuel for future moon-dwellers. “The moon is an absolutely extreme environment,” Sorensen said. “To get there, you’ve got to pass through the Van Allen belt, which is a high-ionising radiation experience for anything passing through.”
“Regolith is a very fine substance. It’s 20 to 70 microns, roughly, and it’s very irregular, sharp and abrasive,” Sorensen said. “It’s also sticky, it’s got an electrostatic property to it. That’s extremely wearing on components.”
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