NASA's Chariot lunar vehicle gets demoed on video

We've already gotten a pretty good idea of what NASA's new Chariot lunar vehicle was capable of, but now thanks to NewScientist (and NASA itself) we've got a glimpse of the behemoth in action -- on Earth, of course. As you can see for yourself after the break, the rig certainly looks to be quite capable of tearing it up on the lunar surface, with it boasting a plough to smooth things out for a moon base (or other potential lunar installations). What's more, while they're apparently not quite ready to be demoed just yet, NASA also has plans to outfit it with a drill and a back hoe, but apparently not a laser cannon -- at least none that they're tellin' us about.

[Via Slashdot]

[EdgeOne @ Mar 26th 2008 2:31PM]

Hooostin, we have a problem.

[CraigJ @ Mar 26th 2008 8:00PM]

I'm thinking English is not her first language... either that or someone threw her out a 4th story window and she fell through a green house and subsequently developed a bit of a speech impediment...

[Dave @ Mar 26th 2008 11:54PM]

Im still literally laughing out loud as I type this.... I started the video over twice just to be sure I heard her correctly.

"Hooostin, We have a problem!" = Best.... comment.... ever!

[Vortex @ Mar 27th 2008 1:11PM]

Houston, Texas might not be important to or in the experience of Sandrine Ceurstemont. New Yorkers pronounce it differently:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Street_(Manhattan)#Pronunciation

People with much more extreme variation--say, Indians, the French, or even Michiganders--just have accents, but, of course, Ms. Ceurstemont must have a speech impediment.

[LiqwidZero @ Mar 26th 2008 2:34PM]

In the lesser gravity of the moon, wouldn't the dirt and dust cloud around, everywhere, if one were to scoop it quickly?

[Dan S. @ Mar 26th 2008 3:04PM]

Since there is no atmosphere to suspend the dust particles, no.

[tha-don @ Mar 26th 2008 3:17PM]

lunar dust is actually one of the biggest problems in designing equipment for use on the moon. it can get in the cracks of machines n clog it n stuff.

so yeah, it's prolly gonna go all over, but it's everywhere already. just don't wear your good shoes when you're usin this thing i guess.

[Josh Warner @ Mar 26th 2008 7:26PM]

Dan S. is dead wrong here.

Dust is kept suspended longer on earth by the atmosphere, true. But particles on the moon will definitely kick up when agitated, and in the low gravity they will take a decent amount of time to descend. The dust clouds end up being flatter to the ground, and there won't be any turbulence to further the problem, but a blade that big will create dust issues for the rest of the Chariot vehicle.

FYI: Lunar dust (also known as regolith, though that is a more general term) is a huge challenge to designing mechanics to work there; tha-don is right on.

[Paul @ Mar 26th 2008 8:15PM]

Also, Lunar dust is extremely, extremely abrasive. Since there is no atmosphere, no wind, no elements, the dust never really breaks down. So when a meteor crashes into the surface it ejects the fine, rough particles into the air, which then settle. These particles are extremely rough.

On earth wind blowing the dust, rain, and general atmospheric conditions help break down and smooth out the dust, kinda like when you were a kid and used one of those rock polishing machines, stick rough rocks in, let it run for a while and the rocks come out smooth.

[CraigJ @ Mar 26th 2008 8:32PM]

Since there is no atmosphere, dust particles will simply follow Newton's laws of gravity: the particles will fall to the surface as fast as any dropped rock (I believe the gravity on the Moon is 1.63 meters / sec per sec ?). The particles will follow a fairly flat trajectory since the gravity on the moon is so low, about 1/6th Earth gravity. A rock dropped on earth takes about 1 second to fall 10 meters (1 G = 9.80665 m / s per s) On the moon that rock will take over 3 seconds to to fall 10 meters. So unless I am completely mistaken, I would think that dust clouds would clear rather quickly...

[Wwhat @ Mar 26th 2008 9:42PM]

Ironically the astronauts that first tried to drive a vehicle on the moon found that the dust thrown up was such an issue that they had to fashion a improvised protection over the wheels, and now many years later damn NASA makes the same mistake and lets the wheels open.. and these people think they'll ever go to mars successfully..
It's all so disappointing.

[CraigJ @ Mar 26th 2008 10:43PM]

@Wwhat: Well, it is a prototype: maybe they plan to add the fenders later? From:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/news/releases/2008/H08-068.html

"Some, all or none of these features may be selected for the design of a rover that eventually goes to the moon. NASA's lunar architects currently envision pressurized rovers that would travel in pairs, with two astronauts in each rover. The new prototype vehicle is meant to provide ideas as those future designs are developed"

[imacmatt09 @ Mar 26th 2008 2:35PM]

Is that a chair on the back or a spoiler?

[Matt @ Mar 26th 2008 2:47PM]

sure looks like a chair to me.

[Rick @ Mar 26th 2008 2:50PM]

In the video it shows a guy driving the thing standing up. It looks like some kind of support for the jockey.

Swing low, sweet chariot!

[tha-don @ Mar 26th 2008 3:20PM]

comin forth to carry me on the moon?

[Anonymoose @ Mar 26th 2008 2:49PM]

i hope this thing is a hybrid

[atrain @ Mar 26th 2008 2:56PM]

Combustion is a reaction with oxygen, and there tends to be very little of that on the moon...

So it would have to be electric only.

[retro77 @ Mar 26th 2008 2:53PM]

I vote for the laser.

And this thing definatly blends well!

[kyle allen @ Mar 27th 2008 12:57AM]

will it plow?

[retro77 @ Mar 27th 2008 10:01AM]

lol

[Brad @ Mar 26th 2008 3:01PM]

Seriously though, why don't they demo it on the set on which they faked the first lunar landing? J/K

[Dave @ Mar 26th 2008 11:55PM]

They will.. in the future when they are telling us that we are "actually there" ;)

[For2itous @ Mar 26th 2008 3:07PM]

Just slap on a plexiglass dome and you've got yourself one sweet zero G Popemobile!

[Phoenix @ Mar 26th 2008 3:07PM]

This was on British TV like a month or two ago

[OneLove @ Mar 26th 2008 3:33PM]

Is this for clearing snow off the moon. (why does the narrator read like a retard?)

[kyle allen @ Mar 27th 2008 12:52AM]

i think shes Canadian... dont take that the wrong way.... they use km instead of miles up there right? also the hooston instead of heauston (i know i spelled that wrong so shut up!) that pared with the lack of a non-american accent, leads me to conclude that she is Canadian... or just an American who cant read... thats probly more likely

[t3_slider @ Apr 24th 2008 11:24PM]

Is that what you think Canadians sound like? Seriously? Obviously you've never been to Canada (or you've been talking to some people I've clearly never met). People in northern Ontario, the maritimes, and some prairie provinces definitely have an accent, but it's absolutely nothing like that in any way shape or form. In southern Ontario, we sound like the most mild-accented Americans you'll ever find (I don't say aboot, I say about. I pronounce 'R' and basically any other letter or syllable you can imagine.)

For some reason when Americans hear Ontarians talk, they assume we're from Minnesota. Minnesotans have a very strong accent as far as I know, and I definitely sound nothing like them. I have a theory that many Americans have never heard a Canadian speak, nor have they heard anyone from Minnesota speak, so they automatically come to the illogical conclusion that we MUST be from Minnesota. It's stupid.

I'd wager that English is not her first language (or maybe it is but it's not her parents' first language), but that she learned it very young. She only has a slightish (though very noticeable) accent on some and not all words.

To conclude, I pronounce Houston "Hewston" like the name Hewey. Not like Whoston. I think in general Canadians tend to know a lot more about Americans that Americans do about Canadians, and I think it's a shame. We're really not that different at all (except in political terms) than some of the northern states (though we're quite different than Alabama, for instance).

[OneLove @ Apr 26th 2008 5:19PM]

So you are outraged about the Canadian comment, but you make a similar comment about Minnesotans? (Btw, I live in MN)

[t3_slider @ Apr 30th 2008 1:16AM]

I'm not outraged at all -- and I don't think one accent is 'better' than the other either. It's just that the accents sound nothing alike and people constantly think I'm from Minnesota. It makes no sense. What was mildly offensive (well, not really -- but strange nonetheless) was comparing a Canadian accent (of which there are several) to the speaker in the video (which no Canadian accent that I've ever heard sounds like). It doesn't sound like a Minnesota accent either.

Try taking the "What American accent do you have" quiz for fun: http://www.youthink.com/quiz.cfm?action=go_detail&sub_action=take&obj_id=9827 (I took it and was deemed to have a Canadian accent, which was nice considering it was supposed to detect American accents). Apparently "People from outside North America probably think you`re from the States, but over here we wouldn`t make such a mistake."

[~~Tito~~ @ Mar 26th 2008 3:35PM]

Hooston, PFFFFFFFFFFFFFF. . . . .

[Matthew Van Arsdale @ Mar 26th 2008 3:44PM]

I think "Plow" is spelled like this? Not like this "Plough" Bloody Brits......

[Tim @ Mar 26th 2008 4:00PM]

There is something unsettling to me about this.

I mean, part of me is excited to see the moon being developed (and this is a step in that dirrection), and I am reminded of the founding of this country, but then I remember that there were some other people in [what would come to be] America before us, and they got a little upset about John Connors and William Smiths laying claim to what they felt was theirs.

Maybe I am just weird, I don't know and frankly don't care. I felt compelled to mention that no body really OWNS the moon, yet, and someone or something MAY get a little upset about this. Anything is possible. I guess I am just saying, you never know what is going to happen.

You can knock on someones door all day and hope they answer, of you can kick the door down and start stealing their shit. One is harder to ignore than the other.

And for the record, I didn't know I believed in aliens until JUST now...weird.

[TheChris @ Mar 26th 2008 4:19PM]

as long as they don't screw it up for everyone else on earth

[Beowulf @ Mar 26th 2008 5:20PM]

A frickin' bulldozer?

So I guess NASA is done with gentle exploring, and is ready to move "ahead" to destructive science?

[BobTurbo @ Mar 26th 2008 10:47PM]

Humans don't own Earth either...

[josephroseph @ Mar 26th 2008 9:17PM]

that's actually a thoughtful comment, at least the part about claiming ownership of the moon. i'm thinking nasa will likely keep moving things in the international direction, e.g. the space station. of course that means the u.s. will foot the bill initially, then everyone else will jump on board after a few years. still if it benefits everyone else i'm willing to take a hit to the wallet, after all i'm stuck paying for several wars (that i know about) that i would really rather have nothing to do with. oops politics ... sorry. cheers~!

[coffee @ Mar 26th 2008 4:57PM]

I think most $40 remote-controlled ATVs would work just as well as any of these bots they send to the moon.

So, can't we just put an electric motor on a John Deere and save a few hundred million bucks?

[swmarc @ Mar 26th 2008 5:17PM]

How much does a john deer weigh again?

That vehicle is probably a quarter of the weight of a farm tractor if that. Plus I'm not sure if hydraulics would work on the moon.

[kyle allen @ Mar 27th 2008 12:44AM]

i agree! i dont have a problem with payin taxes just so long as its not wasted on crap like pens that can write in space while the russians just use pencils. if the russians spent as much on space programs as us, they would own mars by now.

[Rick @ Mar 26th 2008 5:26PM]

Is this the same location where the video of the lunar vehicle moon landing will be filmed?

[spaceb @ Mar 26th 2008 5:27PM]

It could carry a big-ass stereo.

[KentNebergall @ Mar 26th 2008 10:27PM]

Looks familiar...
http://www.marssociety.org/portal/TMS_Library/Nebergall_2005_2#1

Apart from the rocker rear suspension I borrowed from them, it's almost the same design I presented to The Mars Society two years earlier. I'm very curious as to if this figured into their design. That would be one for the bucket list.

[highjumpman @ Mar 27th 2008 3:35AM]

Plough, back hoe? It's all sensible, but I still had to chuckle at the idea of a lunar tractor/farming vehicle. Driven standing up? Ben Hur would surely like this chariot...

[smurf781 @ Mar 27th 2008 7:50AM]

You guys missed a spot: You can attach a ho to this thingamajig
This can go either way:
Either NASA has a male astronaut lunar recreation plan or this self-conscious tractor likes big butts.