NASA will send its Iron Man to the Red Planet

Samuel Oskys12/08/20193min
Nasa has had its sights for many years now and will cross a milestone in 2020 with its Martian exploration program. The space agency is on a mission to visit uncharted Red Planet and it plans to do so by sending a humanoid robot to establish a base on its surface.

The semi-autonomous humanoid that shares the visual attributes of Iron Man is called Valkyrie and stands at 6.2ft tall and weighs about 135kgs.

It’s goal, to help humans colonize our neighbouring planet Mars. The humanoid has been programmed to use human tools, navigate across the planets rocky terrain with the help of its hydraulic power and also map its own path upon arrival to Mars.

‘Valkyrie’ will be fully equipped for the Mars mission

Valkyrie has an infrared-transparent faceplate which indicates the humanoids status or condition so to say. Inside this faceplate, the LIDAR sensor constantly scans surrounding objects and obstacles it may come across. Valkyrie has a dual brain or dual CPU’s – 2 Intel iCore i7’s – and although it’s been tested with a power cord attached to its shell, it can roam around cord-free for 1 hour.

Valkyrie will be fitted with strong armour to withstand the rough conditions of the Red Planet’s surface but also have dozens of high res cameras all over its exterior shell. The head unit will be equipped with a Multisense SL camera with laser, 3D audio and visual features will be applied also. The torso area will consist of special cameras otherwise called ‘hazard cams’ to spot incoming debris or other dangerous obstacles ahead and behind the humanoid. Valkyrie will be able to maintain dexterity in order to perform different actions with the help of its 38 sensors on each robotic hand.

In the past, NASA has introduced space robots such as Curiosity, Opportunity and Spirit that relied solely on wheels to move around the surface of Mars and although this worked for years, there was the wear and tear issue that slowed missions down. Valkyrie will replicate human abilities like walking and use its arms to pick up objects.

These are some of the features that Valkyrie will be equipped with in order to accomplish its mission to Mars.

This is indeed a breakthrough in robot technology, as this will help with the exploration of the Martian environment and the potential colonization of Mars.

Samuel Oskys

Sam Oskys is a British born technology enthusiast, automotive lover, artist, author and editor. His inspiration has been his life experiences; his evolution and adaptation in society and life itself and as a result, translated these emotions into art and words within his work in this duration. Writing about trendy, technology, automotive and lifestyle-related material is what he mainly focuses on and he’s currently one of the authors for High Worth Citizen. Contact Sam at +357-22029786 ext: 6115 or by email at [email protected] for editorial related questions.



About us

High Worth Citizen is all about delivering the latest business news on finance, investment, real estate and wealth. Our readers are the rich and powerful, their associates and business partners, the global High Net Worth Individuals.


CONTACT US