NASA engineers are testing three mini-surface probes that will be sent to explore the Moon at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the USA. The probes are part of CADRE, for Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration, and are part of plans for a base station to be prepared on the Moon.
This group of robots will operate together without the need for any human control. In August 2023, two of these probes were tested and proved that they can move in unison and adjust their trajectory to avoid obstacles. The tests now took place at Mars Yard, where the terrain conditions that the probes will encounter on the Moon were simulated, explains the Space.com.
These probes will be powered by solar panels and are equipped with cameras, sensors and radars that map the lunar surface in 3D. In addition to difficult terrain conditions, the vehicles were also tested under extreme light conditions, to simulate exactly what will be found on the Moon. Last year, the probes faced vibration and thermal tests, airless conditions and extreme temperatures (cold and heat) inside a thermal vacuum chamber and also electromagnetic interference and compatibility challenges inside a special chamber that absorbs radio waves.
The construction and development of the three probes were completed at the beginning of March this year and now NASA wants to integrate everything into the mission of the private company Intuitive Machine, which will take them to the surface of the Moon in its third mission, IM-3, planned for the end of this year or beginning of 2025.
