Space Penguin Could Hop Around The Moon

notdanielp writes "A robotic Lunar Penguin explorer could be hopping around on the moon by 2009, said Raytheon on Tuesday, as it unveiled the concept lander at an aerospace conference. The unmanned lunar device, in development for two years, is 3 feet tall and weighs approximately 230 pounds. It "hops" by reigniting small propulsion engines ... President Bush last year refocused the space program on sending people to the moon, Mars and beyond. Raytheon said the Penguin could be a robotic precursor to future manned space missions and that it was being proposed to NASA."

Comments

You KNEW this was coming

[BlackCobra43]

.......but does it run Linux?

Re:You KNEW this was coming

[RobertB-DC]

Finally! After all these years, and now it's here: a story for which "Yeah, but does [ridiculously incongruous device] run Linux?" is actually on-topic!

Whoa

[cached]

The lander sits on four legs, much like a small version of the original landers that brought astronauts to the moon. The squat, compact unit has a few tiny jump boosters protruding below and on its sides and looks nothing like an actual penguin. This looks just like my my linux box sitting on my table.

Great

[CalcMan]

A penguin with gas.

Which weapon, now?

[ScentCone]

From TFA: The Lunar Penguin, originally intended to land on the south pole of the moon to search for ice, is based on tactical weapons technologies, which should make it much more affordable, Raytheon said

Just curious what booster-powered hopping weapons system Raytheon has been working on lately, and if they have lasers strapped to their heads or what.

Re:Which weapon, now?

[-Grover]

Everyone should know by now that it does NOT have laser beams attached to it's head. That technology is reserved for Sharks, and possibly ill tempered sea bass.

Name for the Machine?

[-Grover]

Personally I like

Lunar Terrestrial Unmanned Excursion.

Lunar TUX :)

Someone's gotta do it...

[KC7GR]

Would someone please grab a generic image of Tux, and outfit him with a space suit and pogo stick, please? Preferably against a lunar backdrop? I'm away from my Photoshop-equipped system at the moment or I'd give it a shot.

Keep the peace(es).

Damn movie sequels

[Anonymous Coward]

It never fails that Hollywood will always ruin good movies with really crappy sequels. I can just see it now:
"March of the Penguins 2: Electric Boogaloo: In Space"

encapsulation

[milktoastman]

I bet no one will get this reference...it's obscure and irrelevant...but I'm curious just to see if anyone is as nerdy as me.

"Make it jump with its flippers extended, like a friendly gesture."

"I don't know, the sight of that robot penguin jumping toward me with flippers extended would scare the piss out of me."

"Good point"

You have to wonder...

[lost in place]

You have to wonder how many other animals they considered before deciding that a 250 lb rocket propelled vehicle was anything like a penguin. So...

TOP 5 NAMES SUGGESTED BY RAYTHEON ENGINEERS BEFORE THEIR PR DEPT TOOK OVER:

1. Giant Flying Cockroach
   
2. Big Flying Rat, Mark I
   
3. Lunar Kangaroo
   
4. Rocket-propelled Barrel-o-Electronics
   
5. Flatulent R2D2
   

March of the Lunar Pengiuns

[tont0r]

the Lunar Penguin, originally intended to land on the south pole of the moon to search for ice, is based on tactical weapons technologies, which should make it much more affordable, Raytheon said

Coming with face melting lasers to a theater near you.

It's a ploy.

[Sandbox Conspiracy]

The guys and gals down at Lunar Linux are grinning maliciously at the success of their propaganda scheme to encourage poor schmucks like me to post links to their project on /. in a desparate attempt to get +5 mod points.

Scene in the Oval Office:

[DarkHand]

I can see how it went down:

Scientist: "Mr. President, we have a number of new designs for our next Mars probe. Utilizing various state of the art metallurgy processes and the most advanced..."

Bush: "Can the scientologist mumbo jumbo, Doc."

Scientist: "::sigh:: This one looks like a penguin."

Bush: "Ooh, a penguin? Heh heh, I like penguins. Approved!"

Speaking of Linux Jokes

[Ingolfke]

Q: What's the difference between maggots and Linux zealots?

A: Maggots love open sores.

To the moderators: This post could be considered to be Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, or Offensive. Please moderate +1 Funny... understanding that we all need to laugh at ourselves and few bad puns ever once in awhile

you forgot the line..

[tont0r]

Bush: "Put some lasers on it and you got a deal!"

Scientist: "::sigh::"

Space Batman to Follow

[JLavezzo]

Scientists expect to deploy a Space Batman to thwart any crimes attempted by the Space Penguin. The Governor of California may come to the defense of the Penguin.

Re:ill avoid the linux jokes...

[aardvarkjoe]

From that page:

Penguins do not live in the wild in any location in the Northern Hemisphere. This includes the continents of North America, Europe, and Asia. There are no penguins living in the wild in the Arctic regions of the North Pole. The only penguins living in the Northern Hemisphere are living in zoos or in wildlife displays. There are no penguins living in the wild in the Northern Hemisphere.

So, do penguins live in the wild in the northern hemisphere?

Re:ill avoid the linux jokes...

[Chris Burke]

Penguins with mullets, what could be cooler?

Penguins with porkchop sideburns, but that's about it.

Hah, space penguins

[merikari]

I first read the title as "Space Penguin Could Hop Around the Moon".

No. Wait..

Of course it does

[commodoresloat]

The title is "Space penguin could hop around moon." It could hop once someone designs a driver for its flippers, and assuming penguin_hop-0.2.7 is properly compiled (be sure to check for dependency errors). Oh yeah, and someone still needs to build support for the feet, so hopping will still be erratic. Any questions? RTFM. But the documents are only half done, so you're going to have to guess the rest by scanning the code for comments, but that's what open source is about, right?

If the penguins were running OS X the title of this article would be "Space Penguin Hops Around Moon."

Re:ill avoid the linux jokes...

[pcnetworx1]

On the day of 9/1/05 at the school...

Teacher: WHY IS THE NETWORK DOWN? I CANNOT SEE ANY GRADES, MY EMAIL, OR INFECT THE SCHOOL NETWORK TODAY!

Jimmy: It was me teacher.

Teacher: Jimmy, what did you do!

(IT guy running in with a burned up server held by those tongs from chemistry)

IT Guy: We've located why the network has slowed down. *gulp* We've been slashdotted

Teacher: Not, not, but...

IT Guy: It was.

Teacher: JIMMY YOU ARE GOING TO THE ADMINISTRATOR AND CLEANING UP THIS MESS, AND I DON'T MEAN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT ADMIN EITHER! STRAIGHT TO THE BOFH FOR YOU!!

Jimmy: Anything but that, please, all I did was make a site about penguins!

IT Guy: Oh penguins, thats where it all begins...

Exclusive first pics!

[GMFTatsujin]

See the hopping moon penguin in a field test here!