a history of cybernetic animals and early robots
American manned lunar rover. Study 1989. MOSAP (MObile Surface APplication traverse vehicle) was the pressurized lunar rover that was the key to NASA’s 90-Day-Study moon base concept of 1989. It would greatly extend the range of manned lunar expeditions. MOSAP had a maximum range of 3000 km with a nominal speed of 10 kph. MOSAP …
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Most of the unmanned Lunar and Martian rover concepts were designed to use manipulator arms for sampling rocks and surface material. John Schoenherr’s (1935-2010) fabulous Moon Crawler painting pictured above, which he painted in 1961 for the cover of Analog magazine that year. Source: Project SWORD Â Â Project S.W.O.R.D. (SPACE WORLD ORGANISATION FOR RESEARCH …
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4-Legged robot space explorer. Robot Rescuing an Astronaut on the Lunar Surface. Robot reminiscent of Odex-1. Legged robot turning a valve. Model Lunar walker from the French children's book "Permieres Vacances Sur La Lune" [“First Vacation on the Moon”], Marc Heimer – 1967. Above: Prediction of life on the moon c1965. Illustration from the …
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1974 Japanese Sci-Fi image of a Space Tug by Shigeru Komatsuzaki. Whilst it looks aggressive and attacking, it appears to be a rescue vehicle. Space Tugs by Sokolov and Leonov c1965. A depiction of an Unmanned Orbital Free-Flyer, similar to the 1982-4 Telepresence Servicer Unit (TSU) concept. Image source: projectrho.com Detail: Image source: projectrho.com Artwork …
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1983 M.I.T. Beam Assembly Teleoperator (BAT) The SSL was founded in 1976 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its early studies in space construction techniques eventually led to the EASE (Experimental Assembly of Structures in EVA) flight experiment which flew on Space Shuttle mission STS-61B in late 1985. EASE was designed to evaluate the ability …
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