Small Robots Could Build Landing Site For Moon Base

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday March 2, 2009 @07:31AM from the get-serious-about-moving-off-planet dept.

A new NASA-sponsored study suggests that small lawnmower-sized robots could be used to build a landing site for a moon outpost. In order to be efficient a landing pad would have to be close to any structures created, but without an atmosphere to slow down the lunar sand it would sandblast the outpost, creating the need for some sort of protection. By using small robots to either build protective berms or collect rocks to "pave" a landing pad, NASA hopes to provide protection against the sand-blasting effects of a landing on the moon.

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Someone remind me why... by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-02 07:48 · Score: -1, Flamebait

we're relying on NASA for this sort of thing? Where in the constitution does it say that space exploration is solely a government endeavor to be borne largely by the American taxpayer? If they were ever truly allowed to compete, the private sector would blow NASA away in terms of both speed and cost.