DesignNews Reports on Motiv’s COLDArm Robot and its Significance to Future Moon Settlements

DesignNews recently reported on Motiv Space Systems’ COLDArm. A robotic arm that functions in extreme temperatures while exceptionally reducing power consumption.

Tom McCarthy, VP of Business Development at Motiv, told Design News that NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS), a program that will send small robotic landers and rovers to the Moon, will provide a testing ground for the COLDArm. Once on the moon, the COLDArm will complete various tasks, and Motiv will be able to evaluate its applicability towards future moon settlement activities.

Before developing the COLDArm, Motiv had already developed robots with capable electronics for extremely cold environments. When both Motiv and NASA JPL needed to demonstrate the unique capabilities of their respective technologies, they teamed up to achieve the technological breakthroughs found in the COLDArm.

Motiv’s long-term goal is to create robots that can perform maintenance on moon base equipment, with and without the support of astronauts. The evolution of robotics like the COLDArm is the first step in developing technology that will allow human explorers to live on the Moon, leading to the eventual application of this technology for other solar system destinations.

“The experience gained on the Moon will influence the plans to send humans to [build settlements on] Mars, which is [humanity’s]… next exploration destination,” says McCarthy.

Read the full article on DesignNews