After carefully studying photos and videos of lunar missions, engineers realized how uncomfortable it was for astronauts to bend over to pick up rocks or selected items through a spacesuit with a backpack weighing more than 60 kilograms equipped with a life support system.
Therefore, a few years ago, a team of engineers proposed the idea of ​​​​the Biobot system – a robot on an all-terrain chassis that could accompany astronauts during a journey to the lunar surface and carry auxiliary equipment.
The Biobot project has already received a NInovative Advanced Concepts grant from NASA, and engineers working on the project recently successfully demonstrated proof of concept functionality by developing a working prototype system.
The ultimate goal of the project will be to create a small robot that will follow an astronaut during extravehicular activities and will be connected to a human spacesuit by a sort of “umbilical cord” that will provide oxygen from a life support system built into the robot, rather than what is in the astronaut’s backpack.
Biobot It can also serve as a platform for storing collected samples or tools needed to carry out various tasks.