Colmena
Science project to use swarming robots to explore the Moon's surface
The Colmena project is a science and engineering experiment to design and deploy tiny autonomous robots to explore the surface of the Moon. It was created at the National Autonomous University of Mexico by the LINX Space Instrumentation Laboratory, at the Institute of Nuclear Sciences of the UNAM, and funded equally by grants from the Mexican Space Agency and the National Council of Humanities, Sciences and Technologies in Mexico. It is the first Latin American scientific instrument designed to explore the surface of the Moon.[1]
The payload consists of five small, autonomous robots,[2] each weighing less than 60 grams and measuring 12 centimeters in diameter, which are designed to be catapulted onto the lunar surface.[1][3] Once the robots are on the surface, they locate each other and collaborate in a swarm to accomplish their science mission (thus the project name, which is Spanish for Beehive).[4]
It was launched on 8 January 2024 on the maiden flight of the Vulcan Centaur rocket as a co-hosted payload on the Astrobotic Peregrine Mission One to the Moon.[1] However following a propellent issue with the lander, the mission was aborted and the lander along with Colmena burned up in the earth's atmosphere over the South Pacific Ocean, with a last reported contact by the Canberra tracking station at 20:59 GMT.[5]
References
- ^ a b c Guillén, Beatriz (2024-01-09). "El sueño espacial mexicano viaja en cinco robots de camino a la Luna (in English: Mexican space dream travels on five robots on their way to the Moon)". Mexico City: EL PAÍS. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
- ^ "Colmena project". Project Management Institute. 2022-05-02.
- ^ https://www.astrobotic.com/lunar-delivery/manifest/
- ^ Castro, Geraldine; Miguel, Lucy E. (2024-01-08). "Proyecto Colmena: así son los robots que México envió a la Luna (in English: Project Beehive: These are the robots that Mexico sent to the Moon)". Wired. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
- ^ "Peregrine lander: American Moon mission destroyed over Pacific Ocean". 2024-01-18. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
- v
- t
- e
Lunar rovers
- Yutu-2 (2019–present, on Chang'e 4)
- Chang'e 6 rover
| Lunokhod |
|
|---|---|
| Apollo | |
| CLEP |
|
| Chandrayaan |
|
| Rashid |
|
| CLPS |
|
| JAXA |
- MoonRanger (2023)
- VIPER (2024)
- Chang'e 7 (Rashid 2) (2026)
- Lunar Terrain Vehicle
- Lunokhod 3 (1977)
- Resource Prospector
- Tank on the Moon (2007 documentary)
- List of missions to the Moon
- Mars rover
- Rover (space exploration)
- List of extraterrestrial rovers
Missions are ordered by launch date. Sign † indicates failure en route or before intended mission data returned.
External links
- Project website
This space- or spaceflight-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
- v
- t
- e
