IM-February Mission carries a fusion of science and art

The MAPP rover will carry three of MIT’s Space Exploration Initiative payloads. (Credit: Lunar Outpost)

After becoming the first private operator to land a spacecraft on the moon last month, Intuitive Machines is preparing its next mission, IM-2, for launch later this year. The spacecraft will carry several NASA payloads, including a drill and a mass spectrometer to study the moon’s south pole region. There will also be a rover called the Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP), built by Colorado company Lunar Outpost.

But three other projects at the MIT Media Lab will also embark on trips to the moon.

The MIT Media Lab is known for its interdisciplinary approach to technology and the marriage of technology and human culture, and the project its Space Exploration Initiative built for IM-2 reflects that. Once it lands, a science fiction-inspired helper robot will crawl around the spacecraft and check its temperature. A camera mounted on the MAPP rover will take the first digital 3D images of the moon’s surface. The Media Lab is also preparing a successor to Voyager 1’s Golden Record, which will carry sound recordings from Earth. This small silicon version will provide an iconic record of people’s thoughts about space exploration to the Moon.

“We’re working with students – scientists, researchers, engineers, artists, musicians – to bring humanity and culture and everything into space and make it a place we want to live in. We’re thinking more about thinking about how we want to live in space, so we can bring those technologies back to Earth and benefit from them,” said Cody Page, director of the Space Exploration Initiative. Masu.

Small but mighty AstroAnt

At just over 3 cm (1 inch) in diameter, AstroAnt is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. But it has a big mission. The goal is to measure the temperature of the MAPP spacecraft and monitor its condition.

The moon is known for its extreme temperature swings, from unbearably hot to freezing cold. Sunlit areas can reach temperatures of 250 degrees Fahrenheit (121 degrees Celsius) near the moon’s equator. But in permanently shadowed locations, such as crater floors near the Moon’s poles, temperatures can drop to a frigid -410 F (-246 C).

“We want to make sure that all active heating or active cooling is happening. [systems on the rover] They confirm that they are working as expected and that there are no unexpected hotspots on the surface of the spacecraft, for example,” says Page.

AstroAnt does not touch the moon’s surface. Instead, like R2-D2, Star Wars, it rides a larger vehicle and walks around on it. AstroAnt’s four wheels are magnetic and can be stuck to the top of the rover where MAPP’s radiator is located. AstroAnt also has a small metal box called a “garage” that acts as a charging station. The robot can run for several hours before needing to be charged.

Fangzheng Liu, AstroAnt’s project leader and research assistant at the MIT Media Lab, said there are benefits to having a miniature companion to monitor the rover’s health. “Because this robot is so small, it can enter very confined spaces that cannot be reached by things like human astronauts or large robotic arms.”

While AstroAnt’s first foray into space is a technology demo, future versions of AstroAnt could include sensors and a small hammer that could alert engineers back on Earth if a crack develops in the spacecraft’s surface. may be. Eventually, its builders envision sending swarms of sci-fi-inspired astroants to aid researchers in planetary and deep space exploration, and for use on satellites and future space stations.

Mapping the moon in 3D

Another payload from the Space Exploration Initiative will carry a camera that will be the first digital 3D camera on the lunar surface. Until now, astronauts have taken 3D stereo images on film. In some cases, he would only take two photos from slightly different positions. But this off-the-shelf camera (a version of Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect) can capture high-resolution depth data of its surroundings.

Scientists and engineers are particularly keen to obtain information about the topography and geology of the moon’s south pole region, where IM-2 will land. Space programs around the world primarily target this region because water ice can be found in permanently shadowed craters.

The camera, which the team field-tested in Norway’s remote Svalbard archipelago, is mounted beneath the spacecraft. The data collected will help future missions and lunar landers navigate the rugged terrain expected to be encountered at the moon’s south pole.

“You have to throw the lander around the moon and land there. [precise] The points are very difficult. But this kind of camera can help us get there,” says Page.

These 3D images could also be used to train future astronauts, such as those on NASA’s Artemis program who will travel to the moon’s south pole, Page added. “The data that we use from there will basically allow us to build a virtual environment of the path and what the lunar rover is seeing,” Page said.

unite humanity on the moon

The Space Exploration Initiative’s final payload draws inspiration from Voyager 1’s Golden Record. The piece, titled Humanity United with MIT Art and Nanotechnology in Space (HUMANS), is a 2-inch silicon record etched with words and waveforms from 1,234 human voices in a variety of languages. And it explains what space means to humanity. A larger 6-inch version of his disc exists on the International Space Station.

Of the three payloads, it will do the least when humans arrive on the moon, but it will likely leave the longest legacy. Long after AstroAnt was powered down and MAPP’s depth camera stopped, HUMANS’ recordings continued to wait, capturing the first generation of humans’ thoughts on establishing a permanent presence on the Moon. Ready to tell.