Ok, the Moon is first on his list, but since President Bush decided that space exploration is a priority for top US scientists, engineers at MA-based defence contractors Raytheon are now busy working on a robot, cleverly dubbed the Lunar Penguin, that will be able to one day scale the surafce of the Moon using compact rocket boosters. These “robotic scouts” will be our first diplomats on the craggy surface and the project leader, Karleen Seybold, believes this could be “the delivery vehicle for the science community,” for any colonization. The non-penguin looking Penguin has four legs, weighs 104 lb and is under 1 meter tall. Could double as a footstool or cocktail table if things don’t work out.
Robotic space penguin to hop across the Moon [NewScientist.com]
