NASA Will Send a Spidercrab Rover to the Moon

The American space agency will send the Asagumo rover to the moon. Unlike other devices of this type, it will be equipped with spider-like legs, not wheels.

IN A NUTSHELL:

British company Spacebit is working on a walking lunar rover;
The device will be sent to the moon by NASA this year;
"Spidey" is supposed to search for underground locations that could be inhabited by people.

Tech Times reports that NASA is planning to send Asagumo, a spider-like lunar rover to the moon this summer. The use of legs instead of wheels is to make it easier to move around the bumpy surface of Earth's satellite, as well as to reach previously unexplored places - the ten-centimeter "spider" is to enter lava channels in search of places where people could live.

The device is being built in the laboratories of the British company Spacebit and will be equipped with mining and measuring equipment. The rover is to be taken to the moon as part of mission Artemis - it will land in a valley known as Vallis Schröteri (named after the German astronomer Johann Schröter) located on the western edge of the visible part of Earth's satellite, in a region called Oceanus Procellarum. This place was chosen because of the characteristics of the terrain (flat spaces) and a lot of sunlight.

The mechanical arachnid will connect to the lander via Wi-Fi and will be transported back to it via a special built-in drone in case the signal is lost. The project is said to have cost about $4.1 million. If the mission succeeds, it will be the first time a British rover lands on the moon.