Moon GPS is Coming

“There hasn’t been a thrust to translate all the communication and navigation infrastructure that exists on Earth to anywhere else in the solar system—until now,” says Bijunath Patla, a theoretical physicist at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) who has published research into the logistics of these efforts. “This is the time when people are thinking of such a leap in technology.” This leap is propelled by a surge of planned activity and exploration on the moon in the coming years that will demand sophisticated logistics, including the type of position, navigation, and timing (PNT) systems that underpin practically all of our infrastructure on Earth. The NASA-led Artemis Program aims to send astronauts on surface missions at the lunar south pole, a goal that necessitates reliable lines of communication and precision location services. China also plans to land crews on the moon this decade, and a host of other governmental and corporate entities are dispatching robotic explorers to the lunar surface in the near future.” (Wired)

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A soft-bodied robot controlled by light-sensitive fungal mycelia propels itself along a surface. This robot controlled by a king oyster mushroom represents a breakthrough in biohybrid robotics, blending living organisms with machines. This robot harnesses the electrical signals and light sensitivity of the mushroom’s mycelium to control the robot’s movements, integrating biological sensing with robotic action. (via CNN)

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