NASA's humanoid Valkyrie robot could lead the way to Mars (video)

NASA's Robonaut is only just getting its legs, but it already has some fresh (and arguably superior) competition. The agency's Johnson Space Center has given IEEE Spectrum a sneak peek at Valkyrie, a DARPA Robotics Challenge entry built to take on dangerous tasks that would normally require a human presence. In addition to sporting more joints than many of its typical two-legged rivals, the sometimes autonomous machine is chock-full of cameras, LIDAR and sonar that help it quickly move around. It can operate under planetary gravity loads that Robonaut can't touch, and even an inexperienced user can keep it running; the modular design lets astronauts swap out batteries and replacement limbs within minutes.

Valkyrie isn't guaranteed to enter service, as it will have to win the support of both DARPA and NASA officials before it progresses much further. If it passes muster, however, it could be vital to NASA's long-term plans for Mars -- robots such as Valkyrie will likely prepare any future Martian landing site and assist humans once they arrive.

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Source: IEEE Spectrum, NASA

Tags: darpa, DarpaRoboticsChallenge, JohnsonSpaceCenter, jsc, lidar, nasa, r5, robot, sonar, space, valkyrie, video Next: Dell's first Chromebook is destined for schools .fyre .fyre-comment-divider

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NASA's Morpheus lander skips the inferno, actually lands (video)

The last time NASA's methane-fueled Morpheus lander took to the skies without training wheels (read: a tether), it didn't go too well. Unless crashing and burning was the plan all along, that is. The Morpheus team have been beavering away since that incident over a year ago, and in a recent test at the Kennedy Space Center, have shown the craft is, in fact, capable of landing. While the video proof doesn't feature much drama and spectacle as a result, we guess it means Morpheus can at least begin setting its sights on locations slightly more exotic than a Florida car park.

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Via: Huffington Post

Source: NASA (YouTube)

Tags: KennedySpaceCenter, lander, morpheus, morpheuslander, nasa, rocket, space, spacecraft, video Next: Rdio launches in 20 new countries, now counts more markets than Spotify .fyre .fyre-comment-divider

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