Moon orbiting Earth from 3.9 million miles
Eight days after its encounter with the Earth, the Galileo spacecraft was able to look back and capture this remarkable view of the Moon in orbit about the Earth, taken from a distance of about 6.2 million kilometers (3.9 million miles). NASA/JSC

As climate change and sealevel rise ravage parts of the world, NASA scientists will soon be developing intelligent, agile and fast robots to study Moon pits and to investigate whether the Moon is the "new home" for mankind. Researchers believe Moon pits are full of resources and could serve as "shelter" for future lunar explorations.

Tech Crunch said the Moon pits are similar to sinkholes or caves on Earth. The pits could have surface access with large underground hollow caverns and spaces that might even contain water ice and space minerals.

Professor Red Whittaker of Carnegie Mellon Uuniversity (CMU) Robotics Institute, who is leading the team of researchers, has made a draft plan codenamed Skylight for the purpose. It will use robots that have a degree of autonomy to self-select where to look in their surface investigations. Whittaker, according to Space.com, explained that from orbit, you can’t get the viewpoints or proximity to see the details that matter. “That’s why we need robots. Is there a way in? Are there overhangs? Could a robot rappel in? Might there be a fissure, cavern or cave opening?” he said. Whittaker said the robots will have to be fast, agile, and capable of traversing many miles over a variety of types of terrain. “They will also have to be able to know they way home to a companion lander that will be better able to communicate with Earth,” he added.

This project is being funded by through NASA’s Artemis Mission, which is about putting mankind on the Moon by 2024. The $2 million research grant has been awarded to the CMU.

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