Mix-and-match kit could enable astronauts to build a menagerie of lunar exploration bots
Tuesday, 14 March 2023 13:21![A team of MIT engineers is designing a kit of universal robotic parts that an astronaut could easily mix and match to build different robot “species” to fit various missions on the moon. Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Mix-and-match kit could enable astronauts to build a menagerie of lunar exploration bots](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2023/mix-and-match-kit-coul.jpg)
When astronauts begin to build a permanent base on the moon, as NASA plans to do in the coming years, they'll need help. Robots could potentially do the heavy lifting by laying cables, deploying solar panels, erecting communications towers, and building habitats. But if each robot is designed for a specific action or task, a moon base could become overrun by a zoo of machines, each with its own unique parts and protocols.
Satellite manufacturers continue to diversify
Tuesday, 14 March 2023 13:14![](https://i0.wp.com/spacenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Artist-view-Arrow-Platform-Copyright-Airbus-2-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1)
Companies with a history of manufacturing large geostationary satellites have succeeded in diversifying their product lines to attract new customers.
As DoD pivots to smaller satellites, Congress airdrops a big one into the budget
Tuesday, 14 March 2023 11:11![](https://i0.wp.com/spacenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Brian_U.S._Capitol_Dome_sillhouette_288aab06-5f98-4e40-bb77-9096e87aa21a-WGS.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1)
The U.S. Defense Department’s head of space acquisitions circulated a memo last fall calling for the Pentagon to embrace a faster, more commercial approach to building satellites.
Carbon dioxide monitoring mission in development
Tuesday, 14 March 2023 09:00![](https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/videos/2023/02/carbon_dioxide_monitoring_mission_in_development/24730551-6-eng-GB/Carbon_dioxide_monitoring_mission_in_development_card_full.png)
The pressure is on to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases we pump into the atmosphere – but the race is also on to support the monitoring that shows if targets are being met. Being developed by ESA on behalf of the EU, the new Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring mission, or CO2M for short, is destined to be Europe’s prime mission for monitoring and tracking carbon dioxide emissions from human activity. CO2M is currently planned as a two-satellite mission, each of which will carry a near-infrared and shortwave-infrared spectrometer to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide at high
Landmark quantum breakthrough paves way to unravel deepest mysteries of universe
Tuesday, 14 March 2023 07:37![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/bristol-traversable-local-wormhole-illustration-bg.jpg)
Millions of galaxies emerge in new simulated images from Roman Space Telescope
Tuesday, 14 March 2023 07:37![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/gargantuan-synthetic-survey-roman-lensing-bg.jpg)
NASA releases detailed map of upcoming eclipses
Tuesday, 14 March 2023 07:37![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/eclipses-spix-bg.jpg)
Chandra helps astronomers discover a surprisingly lonely galaxy
Tuesday, 14 March 2023 07:37![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/chandra-x-ray-observatory-marker-bg.jpg)
OneWeb confirms successful deployment of 40 satellites launched with SpaceX
Tuesday, 14 March 2023 07:37![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/spacex-falcon-9-launched-oneweb-17-bg.jpg)
Hughes and Stargroup extend mobile networks in Mexico
Tuesday, 14 March 2023 07:37![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/hurricane-agatha-mexico-pacific-bg.jpg)
Space-bound heart tissue to aid aging and long-flight studies
Tuesday, 14 March 2023 07:37![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/heart-tissue-long-spaceflights-aging-impact-bg.jpg)
Sure South Atlantic picks Intelsat to connect three British Island Territories
Tuesday, 14 March 2023 07:37![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/falkland-southern-rockhopper-penguins-bg.jpg)
EMURGO Africa and Kepple Africa establish JV to further Web3 partnership
Tuesday, 14 March 2023 07:37![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/africa-space-orbit-raw-marker-bg.jpg)
The first of a new generation of lunar 'astronauts' return to Cologne
Tuesday, 14 March 2023 07:37![](https://www.spxdaily.com/images-bg/mare-mannequins-helga-and-zohar-ready-for-transport-bg.jpg)