Gizmodo: athlete

Moonstream Rover Could Finally Make Yuppies Happy On Mars

John Herrman — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:30:00 EDT

The puny Phoenix lander might be dominating the news right now, but in a few (dozen) years, we might be enjoying the Red Planet from a much more suburban perspective. A young designer has adapted one of man’s greatest achievements - the S.U.V. - to the Martian landscape. By scaling up the spidery walking legs of NASA’s ATHLETE rovers, the massive Moonstream would be able to slowly but smoothly traverse Mars’ uneven surfaces with a giant payload of people and hardware.

The Phoenix straining its wiry little arm to scrape some ice off the ground isn’t a terribly impressive expression of NASA’s billions, but the Moonstream looks forward to a time when the space program’s spending will be a little more apparent. The pilot (or conductor, or driver, or Mom) navigates from a separate, elevated pod at the front of the vehicle, leaving the rest of the presumably large crew to do whatever they want in a cushy main cabin, furnished with all the amenities you would expect in a Martian tour bus.

The designer claims to have taken cues from nature, citing the turtle shells and the stance of giraffes as inspirations. To be completely honest though, it looks like a DLP projector with wheels. Anyway, all this Phoenix talk just serves to remind everyone how lame it is that we aren’t driving around on Mars already, and the Moonstream wouldn’t be a bad way to do it.
[Anthony Sims via DVICE]

NASA's ATHLETE Hex-Legged Lunar Robots Now Work in Pairs

Kit Eaton — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT

We've shown you NASA's neat ATHLETE robots before and it looks like the little hexapod machines have been getting more sophisticated. This vid of two ATHLETEs collaborating to lift a heavy habitat load onto the ground sent faint Matrix-esque shivers down my spine. NASA is taking development of the robots seriously, as it turns out their multiple-wheeled dexterity make them perfect for carrying mobile habitats across the rocky, uneven lunar terrain. They've even been discussed in the most recent mission planning, so they really might be trotting-rolling across the Moon's surface in a short bunch of years. Next up for ATHLETE: a mock mobile lunar base trial. [NASA and New Scientist]

One of These Days, ATHLETE... Bang! Zoom! Straight to the Moon (Video)

Wilson Rothman — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 10:35:32 EST

ATHLETE, NASA's "All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer," was designed for lunar cargo hauling with expertise in hernia-free crouch and lift. A pair of cameras mounted on each of its six sides provide full stereoscopic panoramic view of the lunar surface. The small wheels are used on hard terrain, but they can lock to become feet when the goin' gets rougher. Legs can become arms, and the motors used to control the wheel can also power claws, plows and drills. NASA plans to ship this baby skyward in a "decade or so." [NASA via Make]