The Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT), through its decentralized body, the Mexican Space Agency (AEM), reported that a proudly Mexican technological development of robotics, will reach the lunar surface in 2022.
The general director of the AEM, Salvador Landeros Ayala, explained that, for this year, a set of micro-robots, called “Colmena”, is scheduled to be launched on the Moon, developed with the great talent of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM ).
“Since pre-Hispanic times, in our Mexico deep studies of the cosmos and the Moon were already being carried out, and now, with the“ Colmena ”project, this national technology will make history by reaching our natural satellite, located more than 380 thousand kilometers from the Earth ”, he expressed.
Developed at the Institute of Nuclear Sciences (ICN) of our Maximum House of Studies, by a team led by Dr. Gustavo Medina Tanco, the project included joint support from the AEM, the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT), and the Government of the State of Hidalgo.
The ingenuity was achieved with the effort of approximately 200 young students from all Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, Actuaries, Chemistry, Geology, Psychology, among others, in the Space Instrumentation Laboratory (LINX), of the ICN-UNAM.
The micro-robots, supported by a telecommunications module, will be deployed on the lunar surface, where they will navigate with some independence until they are connected electronically, with the programmed objective of assembling a solar panel that can generate energy, he explained.
After his recent meeting with Dan Hendrickson, Vice President of “Astrobotic”, the official NASA associate in charge of launching this lunar mission, he explained that “Beehive” has already been integrated into the Peregrine Lunar Lander space vehicle, in Pittsburgh, in the United States.
“It is a pride to be witnesses of how the talent of our new generations demonstrates their ability to conquer new frontiers, and we will continue to report on the” Colmena “project, which endorses the commitment of the AEM and UNAM, with the progress of Mexico”, Landeros concluded.