Two years ago, two bizarre detections were made by the radio telescope ANITA. ANITA sits on top of a balloon over Antarctica and its job is to detect high-energy particles called cosmic rays that rain down from space. The detections were from high energy neutrinos that were apparently coming from the ground instead of outer …
Swamp Works is one of the few places in the world with an enormous test bed that mimics the conditions on the lunar surface. Inspired by Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works, the lab responsible for several major aviation breakthroughs, Swamp Works was designed to bring the same agile spirit to NASA. And it’s where Schuler and about a dozen other researchers are prototyping robots to explore and mine the moon. In particular, they’re testing the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot, or Rassor, a four-wheeled contraption about the size of a motorcycle but only a fraction of the weight.
