Space
Space 'Robot Swarm' Builds 21 Feet Diameter Space Telescope, Astronaut Houses On Moon Too
Michael Finn
First Posted: Jul 19, 2016 05:06 AM EDT
Space robots are believed to have the capability of building the next generation of space exploration infrastructure in the form of a space telescopes; featured by a group of young professionals in Washington. It was noted that peering deeper into space will require telescopes with huge mirrors, but the process of building, testing, and transporting them will be a challenge.
The space robots are suggested to be the solution for bringing large telescopes that are difficult to transport into space. A Northrop Grumman manager, Alberto Conti, said that they are currently doing a test on a James Webb Space Telescope that has an almost 21 feet diameter mirror. However, finding a facility large enough to test it and spacecraft that can transport it to the orbiting International Space Station will be difficult, Ooyuz Beta reported. The answer to this will be the use of robots to begin building and testing the telescope in space where there is plenty of elbow room, as suggested by the NASA technology mission director, Jay Falker.
The space robots which could be formed in groups, termed robot swarms, could be used not only to construct telescopes, but also to build housing on the moon where astronauts can live and work, Falker explained. He also said that it would be easier to just build large objects in space rather than on Earth where it needs to be carefully folded up and shipped into orbit.
In a separate report, Conti said that if robot swarms could be programmed to be autonomous, they could also refuel satellites and spacecrafts, and investigate the planets even before humans can explore it, Reddit reported. In an interview with a moderator Carissa Christensen of the Virginia-based Tauri Group, he said that the most important piece of future space technology might be robotics as robotics software will change lives.
The space robots were one of the newest technology introduced at the Future Space Leaders conference held in Capitol last week. However, most of them, though seems possible, has yet to be developed.
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First Posted: Jul 19, 2016 05:06 AM EDT
Space robots are believed to have the capability of building the next generation of space exploration infrastructure in the form of a space telescopes; featured by a group of young professionals in Washington. It was noted that peering deeper into space will require telescopes with huge mirrors, but the process of building, testing, and transporting them will be a challenge.
The space robots are suggested to be the solution for bringing large telescopes that are difficult to transport into space. A Northrop Grumman manager, Alberto Conti, said that they are currently doing a test on a James Webb Space Telescope that has an almost 21 feet diameter mirror. However, finding a facility large enough to test it and spacecraft that can transport it to the orbiting International Space Station will be difficult, Ooyuz Beta reported. The answer to this will be the use of robots to begin building and testing the telescope in space where there is plenty of elbow room, as suggested by the NASA technology mission director, Jay Falker.
The space robots which could be formed in groups, termed robot swarms, could be used not only to construct telescopes, but also to build housing on the moon where astronauts can live and work, Falker explained. He also said that it would be easier to just build large objects in space rather than on Earth where it needs to be carefully folded up and shipped into orbit.
In a separate report, Conti said that if robot swarms could be programmed to be autonomous, they could also refuel satellites and spacecrafts, and investigate the planets even before humans can explore it, Reddit reported. In an interview with a moderator Carissa Christensen of the Virginia-based Tauri Group, he said that the most important piece of future space technology might be robotics as robotics software will change lives.
The space robots were one of the newest technology introduced at the Future Space Leaders conference held in Capitol last week. However, most of them, though seems possible, has yet to be developed.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone