Carnegie Mellon University and Astrobotic Tech Complete Assembly of Lunar Landing Craft

Carnegie Mellon University and Astrobotic Technology Inc have finished the structural assembly of the lunar landing craft which will deliver the Red Rover robot to the moon in 2014.

The structure which weighs half ton and is made of aluminum is now on its way to Boeing company branch in El Segundo in California.

There it will be subjected to shake testing to gauge its soundness and compatibility with the launch vehicle, SpaceX Falcon. The researchers at Astrobotics Technology hope to land the spacecraft on the moon’s Sea of Tranquility or on the Marius Hills. The spacecraft will carry both the robot and the commercial payload close to a recently discovered skylight leading into a volcanic cave.

The Red Rover is a solar powered four wheeled robot that will send back high definition videos to Earth as it explores the moon. The robot was assembled in the Planetary Robotics Lab in Carnegie Mellon’s Gates and Hillman centers. The state of Pennsylvania gave a grant to enable the construction of the lab.

Astrobotic is participating in the Google Lunar X prize which is a $ 30 million competition involving the first privately funded team to rend a robot to the moon. The robot must travel 500 meters and transmit video images and data back to the Earth to qualify.