Jenn Gustetic, NASA's Small Business Innovation Research Program executive, talks with Rob Mueller, senior technologist and co-founder of Kennedy Space Center's Swamp Works. Gustetic met team members and viewed many of the pioneering technologies and innovations in development at Kennedy. Swamp Works is a hands-on, lean development environment for innovation following the philosophies pioneered in Kelly Johnson's Skunk Works and Werner von Braun's development shops. The Swamp Works establishes rapid, innovative and cost-effective exploration mission solutions through a highly collaborative, "no walls" approach, leveraging partnerships across NASA, industry and academia.
Thomas Zurbuchen, in plaid shirt, NASA's associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, listens to a presentation at the Swamp Works facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Thomas Zurbuchen, in plaid shirt, NASA's associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, listens to a presentation at the Swamp Works facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
In the Swamp Works laboratory at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, student interns such as Maddy Olson are joining agency scientists, contributing in the area of Exploration Research and Technology. Olson is majoring in mechanical engineering at the University of North Dakota. The agency attracts its future workforce through the NASA Internship, Fellowships and Scholarships, or NIFS, Program.
In the Swamp Works laboratory at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, student interns such as Kevin Murphy are joining agency scientists, contributing in the area of Exploration Research and Technology. Murphy is majoring in mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The agency attracts its future workforce through the NASA Internship, Fellowships and Scholarships, or NIFS, Program.
Thomas Zurbuchen, in plaid shirt, NASA's associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, listens to a presentation at the Swamp Works facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the foreground is a prototype robotic exploration vehicle.
Thomas Zurbuchen, in plaid shirt, NASA's associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, listens to a presentation at the Swamp Works facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the foreground is a prototype robotic exploration vehicle.
In the Swamp Works laboratory at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, student interns such as Andrew Thoesen are joining agency scientists, contributing in the area of Exploration Research and Technology. Thoesen is studying mechanical engineering at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. The agency attracts its future workforce through the NASA Internship, Fellowships and Scholarships, or NIFS, Program
In the Swamp Works laboratory at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, student interns, from the left, Jeremiah House, Thomas Muller and Austin Langdon are joining agency scientists, contributing in the area of Exploration Research and Technology. House is studying computer/electrical engineering at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. Muller is pursuing a degree in computer engineering and control systems and Florida Tech. Langdon is an electrical engineering major at the University of Kentucky. The agency attracts its future workforce through the NASA Internship, Fellowships and Scholarships, or NIFS, Program.
In the Swamp Works laboratory at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, student interns such as Thomas Muller, left, and Austin Langdon are joining agency scientists, contributing in the area of Exploration Research and Technology. Muller is pursuing a degree in computer engineering and control systems and Florida Tech. Langdon is an electrical engineering major at the University of Kentucky. The agency attracts its future workforce through the NASA Internship, Fellowships and Scholarships, or NIFS, Program.
Steve Jurczyk, Acting Administrator of STMD, Visits Swamp Works at NASA's Kennedy Space Center
Steve Jurczyk, Acting Administrator of STMD, Visits Swamp Works at NASA's Kennedy Space Center
Steve Jurczyk, Acting Administrator of STMD, Visits Swamp Works at NASA's Kennedy Space Center
To celebrate its 10-year anniversary, the Swamp Works team poses for a group photograph inside the Swamp Works laboratory area at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 21, 2023. Swamp Works includes several laboratories where hands-on, cutting-edge technology is developed for NASA and its exploration goals, as well as for benefits on Earth.
To celebrate its 10-year anniversary, the Swamp Works team poses for a group photograph inside the Space Station Processing Facility conference room at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 21, 2023. Swamp Works includes several laboratories where hands-on, cutting-edge technology is developed for NASA and its exploration goals, as well as for benefits on Earth.
Robotics Software Engineer II Chris Rampolla runs benchtop verifications on Astrobotic’s CubeRover – a lightweight, modular planetary rover – before delivery to Swamp Works at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 30, 2022. Astrobotic – a Pittsburgh-based space robotics company – is planning to use Swamp Work’s Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory’s regolith bin, which holds approximately 120 tons of lunar regolith simulant, to depict how the company’s CubeRover would perform on the Moon. NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program provided the funding for initial development, and a $2 million Tipping Point award from the agency has provided additional funding for continued development into a more mature rover.
Senior Software Engineer Taylor Whitaker reports the results of a drawbar pull run to Astrobotic staff outside of the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) Laboratory’s regolith pit at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Swamp Works facility on June 30, 2022. Astrobotic – a Pittsburgh-based space robotics company – is using the GMRO lab’s regolith bin, which holds approximately 120 tons of lunar regolith simulant, to depict how the company’s CubeRover would perform on the Moon. NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program provided the funding for initial development, and a $2 million Tipping Point award from the agency has provided additional funding for continued development into a more mature rover.
In their Swamp Works laboratory at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Dr. Carlos Calle and Jay Phillips are testing an electrostatic precipitator using dust that closely approximates the make-up of that on Mars. They upgraded their electrostatic precipitator to fully simulate Martian atmosphere by designing and constructing a dust aerosolization pre-chamber. The agency's Journey to Mars requires cutting-edge technologies to solve the problems explorers will face on the Red Planet. Scientists are developing some of the needed solutions by adapting a device to remove the ever-present dust from valuable elements in the Martian atmosphere. Those commodities include oxygen, water and methane.
Astrobotic’s mass-offloaded CubeRover – a lightweight, modular planetary rover – undergoes mobility testing inside the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) Laboratory’s regolith pit at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Swamp Works facility on June 30, 2022. Astrobotic – a Pittsburgh-based space robotics company – is using the GMRO lab’s regolith bin, which holds approximately 120 tons of lunar regolith simulant, to depict how the company’s CubeRover would perform on the Moon. NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program provided the funding for initial development, and a $2 million Tipping Point award from the agency has provided additional funding for continued development into a more mature rover.
Astrobotic’s CubeRover – a lightweight, modular planetary rover – undergoes mobility testing inside the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) Laboratory’s regolith pit at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Swamp Works facility on June 30, 2022. Astrobotic – a Pittsburgh-based space robotics company – is using the GMRO lab’s regolith bin, which holds approximately 120 tons of lunar regolith simulant, to depict how the company’s CubeRover would perform on the Moon. NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program provided the funding for initial development, and a $2 million Tipping Point award from the agency has provided additional funding for continued development into a more mature rover.
Researchers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are developing a Zero Launch Mass 3-D printer at the center's Swamp Works. The printer can be used for construction projects on the Moon and Mars. Zero launch mass refers to the fact that the printer uses pellets made from simulated lunar regolith, or dirt, and polymers. This will prove that space explorers can use resources at their destination instead of taking everything with them, saving them launch mass and money. The Kennedy team is working with Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop a system that can 3-D print barracks in remote locations on Earth, using the resources they have where they are.
A Zero Launch Mass 3-D printer is being developed by researchers in Swamp Works at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The printer can be used for construction projects on the Moon and Mars. Zero launch mass refers to the fact that the printer uses pellets made from simulated lunar regolith, or dirt, and polymers. This will prove that space explorers can use resources at their destination instead of taking everything with them, saving them launch mass and money. The Kennedy team is working with Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop a system that can 3-D print barracks in remote locations on Earth, using the resources they have where they are.
A Zero Launch Mass 3-D printer is being tested at the Swamp Works at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The printer can be used for construction projects on the Moon and Mars. Zero launch mass refers to the fact that the printer uses pellets made from simulated lunar regolith, or dirt, and polymers. This will prove that space explorers can use resources at their destination instead of taking everything with them, saving them launch mass and money. The Kennedy team is working with Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop a system that can 3-D print barracks in remote locations on Earth, using the resources they have where they are.
Researchers demonstrate a Zero Launch Mass 3-D printer in Swamp Works at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The printer can be used for construction projects on the Moon and Mars. Zero launch mass refers to the fact that the printer uses pellets made from simulated lunar regolith, or dirt, and polymers. This will prove that space explorers can use resources at their destination instead of taking everything with them, saving them launch mass and money. The Kennedy team is working with Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop a system that can 3-D print barracks in remote locations on Earth, using the resources they have where they are.
NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins visits the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory inside Swamp Works at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, to view some of the evolving technologies in development that astronauts may use to explore the Moon’s surface, prepare it for sustainable outposts, and to handle the dust that is collected during moonwalks.
NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins visits the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory inside Swamp Works at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, to view some of the evolving technologies in development that astronauts may use to explore the Moon’s surface, prepare it for sustainable outposts, and to handle the dust that is collected during moonwalks.
NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik visits the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory inside Swamp Works at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, to view some of the evolving technologies in development that astronauts may use to explore the Moon’s surface, prepare it for sustainable outposts, and to handle the dust that is collected during moonwalks.
NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins visits the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory inside Swamp Works at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, to view some of the evolving technologies in development that astronauts may use to explore the Moon’s surface, prepare it for sustainable outposts, and to handle the dust that is collected during moonwalks.
NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins visits the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory inside Swamp Works at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, to view some of the evolving technologies in development that astronauts may use to explore the Moon’s surface, prepare it for sustainable outposts, and to handle the dust that is collected during moonwalks.
Senior Software Engineer Taylor Whitaker stages Astrobotic’s mass-offloaded CubeRover – a lightweight, modular planetary rover – for a drawbar pull test inside the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) Laboratory’s regolith pit at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Swamp Works facility on June 30, 2022. Astrobotic – a Pittsburgh-based space robotics company – is using the GMRO lab’s regolith bin, which holds approximately 120 tons of lunar regolith simulant, to depict how the company’s CubeRover would perform on the Moon. NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program provided the funding for initial development, and a $2 million Tipping Point award from the agency has provided additional funding for continued development into a more mature rover.
A mass-offloaded version of Astrobotic’s CubeRover – a lightweight, modular planetary rover – is used to simulate mobility in low lunar gravity inside the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) Laboratory’s regolith pit at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Swamp Works facility on June 30, 2022. Astrobotic – a Pittsburgh-based space robotics company – is using the GMRO lab’s regolith bin, which holds approximately 120 tons of lunar regolith simulant, to depict how the company’s CubeRover would perform on the Moon. NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program provided the funding for initial development, and a $2 million Tipping Point award from the agency has provided additional funding for continued development into a more mature rover.
Astrobotic’s CubeRover – a lightweight, modular planetary rover – is photographed in its benchtop testing configuration at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 30, 2022. Astrobotic – a Pittsburgh-based space robotics company – is planning to use the spaceport’s Swamp Works facility and Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory to conduct mobility testing of their rover. The laboratory’s regolith bin, which holds approximately 120 tons of lunar regolith simulant, will help depict how the company’s CubeRover would perform on the Moon. NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program provided the funding for initial development, and a $2 million Tipping Point award from the agency has provided additional funding for continued development into a more mature rover.
Senior Software Engineer Taylor Whitaker (right) and Software Engineering intern Ashten Akemoto create a mobility routine for Astrobotic’s CubeRover – a lightweight, modular planetary rover – using the company’s ground software at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 30, 2022. Astrobotic – a Pittsburgh-based space robotics company – is using the spaceport’s Swamp Works facility and the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory to conduct mobility testing of their rover. The laboratory’s regolith bin, which holds approximately 120 tons of lunar regolith simulant, will help depict how the company’s CubeRover would perform on the Moon. NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program provided the funding for initial development, and a $2 million Tipping Point award from the agency has provided additional funding for continued development into a more mature rover.
Senior Embedded Software Engineer Aamer Almujahed (left) and Software Engineering intern Ashten Akemoto run the ground software for Astrobotic’s CubeRover drawbar pull test inside the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) Laboratory’s regolith pit at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Swamp Works facility on June 30, 2022. Astrobotic – a Pittsburgh-based space robotics company – is using the GMRO lab’s regolith bin, which holds approximately 120 tons of lunar regolith simulant, to depict how the company’s CubeRover would perform on the Moon. NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program provided the funding for initial development, and a $2 million Tipping Point award from the agency has provided additional funding for continued development into a more mature rover.
Robotics Software Engineer II Chris Rampolla (right) and Software Engineering intern Ashten Akemoto issue commands to Astrobotic’s CubeRover using the company’s ground software during mobility testing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 30, 2022. Astrobotic – a Pittsburgh-based space robotics company – is using the spaceport’s Swamp Works facility and the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory to conduct mobility testing of their rover. The laboratory’s regolith bin, which holds approximately 120 tons of lunar regolith simulant, will help depict how the company’s CubeRover would perform on the Moon. NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program provided the funding for initial development, and a $2 million Tipping Point award has provided additional funding for continued development into a more mature rover.
Nathan Gelino, a NASA research engineer at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is working on a Zero Launch Mass 3-D printer in the center's Swamp Works that can be used for construction projects on the Moon and Mars, and even for troops in remote locations here on Earth. Zero launch mass refers to the fact that the printer uses pellets made from simulated lunar regolith, or dirt, and polymers to prove that space explorers can use resources at their destination instead of taking everything with them, saving them launch mass and money. Gelino and his team are working with Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop a system that can 3-D print barracks in remote locations on Earth, using the resources they have where they are.
Research engineers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are working on a Zero Launch Mass 3-D printer at the center's Swamp Works. The printer can be used for construction projects on the Moon and Mars, and even for troops in remote locations on Earth. Zero launch mass refers to the fact that the printer uses pellets made from simulated lunar regolith, or dirt, and polymers to prove that space explorers can use resources at their destination instead of taking everything with them, saving them launch mass and money. The group is working with Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop a system that can 3-D print barracks in remote locations on Earth, using the resources they have where they are.
Nathan Gelino, a NASA research engineer at Kennedy Space Center in Florida displays a 3-D printed cylinder used for compression testing. Engineers at the center’s Swamp Works measured how much force it takes to break the structure before moving on to 3-D printing with a simulated lunar regolith, or dirt, and polymers. Next, Gelino and his group are working on a Zero Launch Mass 3-D printer that can be used for construction projects on the Moon and Mars, even for troops in remote locations here on Earth. Zero launch mass refers to the fact that the printer uses these pellets to prove that space explorers can use resources at their destination instead of taking everything with them, saving them launch mass and money. Gelino and his team are working with Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop a system that can 3-D print barracks in remote locations on Earth, using the resources they have where they are.
Research engineers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are working on a Zero Launch Mass 3-D printer at the center's Swamp Works. The printer can be used for construction projects on the Moon and Mars, and even for troops in remote locations on Earth. Zero launch mass refers to the fact that the printer uses pellets made from simulated lunar regolith, or dirt, and polymers to prove that space explorers can use resources at their destination instead of taking everything with them, saving them launch mass and money. The group is working with Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop a system that can 3-D print barracks in remote locations on Earth, using the resources they have where they are.
Nathan Gelino, a NASA research engineer at Kennedy Space Center in Florida displays a 3-D printed cylinder used for compression testing. Engineers at the center’s Swamp Works measured how much force it takes to break the structure before moving on to 3-D printing with a simulated lunar regolith, or dirt, and polymers. Next, Gelino and his group are working on a Zero Launch Mass 3-D printer that can be used for construction projects on the Moon and Mars, even for troops in remote locations here on Earth. Zero launch mass refers to the fact that the printer uses these pellets to prove that space explorers can use resources at their destination instead of taking everything with them, saving them launch mass and money. Gelino and his team are working with Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop a system that can 3-D print barracks in remote locations on Earth, using the resources they have where they are.
Pellets made from simulated lunar regolith, or dirt, and polymers are being used to test a Zero Launch Mass 3-D printer in the Swamp Works at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The printer can be used for construction projects on the Moon and Mars, and even for troops in remote locations on Earth. Zero launch mass refers to the fact that the printer uses these pellets to prove that space explorers can use resources at their destination instead of taking everything with them, saving them launch mass and money. The group is working with Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop a system that can 3-D print barracks in remote locations on Earth, using the resources they have where they are.
A Zero Launch Mass 3-D printer is being tested at the Swamp Works at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The printer can be used for construction projects on the Moon and Mars, and even for troops in remote locations on Earth. Zero launch mass refers to the fact that the printer uses pellets made from simulated lunar regolith, or dirt, and polymers to prove that space explorers can use resources at their destination instead of taking everything with them, saving them launch mass and money. The group is working with Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop a system that can 3-D print barracks in remote locations on Earth, using the resources they have where they are.
A Zero Launch Mass 3-D printer is being tested at the Swamp Works at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The printer can be used for construction projects on the Moon and Mars, and even for troops in remote locations on Earth. Zero launch mass refers to the fact that the printer uses pellets made from simulated lunar regolith, or dirt, and polymers to prove that space explorers can use resources at their destination instead of taking everything with them, saving them launch mass and money. The group is working with Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop a system that can 3-D print barracks in remote locations on Earth, using the resources they have where they are.
NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik (left) and Jessica Watkins (center) visit the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory inside Swamp Works at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, to view some of the evolving technologies in development that astronauts may use to explore the Moon’s surface, prepare it for sustainable outposts, and to handle the dust that is collected during moonwalks.
NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik (center) and Jessica Watkins (right) visit the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory inside Swamp Works at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, to view some of the evolving technologies in development that astronauts may use to explore the Moon’s surface, prepare it for sustainable outposts, and to handle the dust that is collected during moonwalks. Bresnick holds an instrument designed to help astronauts electromagnetically remove accumulated lunar dust.
NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik and Jessica Watkins visit the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory inside Swamp Works at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, to view some of the evolving technologies in development that astronauts may use to explore the Moon’s surface, prepare it for sustainable outposts, and to handle the dust that is collected during moonwalks.
NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik (far left) and Jessica Watkins (center) visit the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory inside Swamp Works at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, to view some of the evolving technologies in development that NASA astronauts may use to explore the Moon’s surface, prepare it for sustainable outposts, and to handle the dust that is collected during moonwalks. Watkins holds an instrument designed to help astronauts electromagnetically remove accumulated lunar dust.
NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Randy Bresnik visit the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory inside Swamp Works at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, to view some of the evolving technologies in development that astronauts may use to explore the Moon’s surface, prepare it for sustainable outposts, and to handle the dust that is collected during moonwalks.
NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik (left) and Jessica Watkins (center) visit the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory inside Swamp Works at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, to view some of the evolving technologies in development that astronauts may use to explore the Moon’s surface, prepare it for sustainable outposts, and to handle the dust that is collected during moonwalks.
NASA’s RASSOR (Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot) conducts excavation testing of simulated regolith, or lunar dust found on the Moon’s surface, inside of the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. RASSOR is designed to work in low-gravity situations, using counter rotating bucket drums on each arm to collect and dump regolith for the extraction of hydrogen, oxygen, or water, resources critical for sustaining a habitable presence.
NASA’s RASSOR (Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot) conducts excavation testing of simulated regolith, or lunar dust found on the Moon’s surface, inside of the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. RASSOR is designed to work in low-gravity situations, using counter rotating bucket drums on each arm to collect and dump regolith for the extraction of hydrogen, oxygen, or water, resources critical for sustaining a habitable presence.
NASA’s RASSOR (Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot) conducts excavation testing of simulated regolith, or lunar dust found on the Moon’s surface, inside of the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. RASSOR is designed to work in low-gravity situations, using counter rotating bucket drums on each arm to collect and dump regolith for the extraction of hydrogen, oxygen, or water, resources critical for sustaining a habitable presence.
NASA’s RASSOR (Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot) conducts excavation testing of simulated regolith, or lunar dust found on the Moon’s surface, inside of the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. RASSOR is designed to work in low-gravity situations, using counter rotating bucket drums on each arm to collect and dump regolith for the extraction of hydrogen, oxygen, or water, resources critical for sustaining a habitable presence.
NASA’s RASSOR (Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot) conducts excavation testing of simulated regolith, or lunar dust found on the Moon’s surface, inside of the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. RASSOR is designed to work in low-gravity situations, using counter rotating bucket drums on each arm to collect and dump regolith for the extraction of hydrogen, oxygen, or water, resources critical for sustaining a habitable presence.
NASA’s RASSOR (Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot) conducts excavation testing of simulated regolith, or lunar dust found on the Moon’s surface, inside of the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. RASSOR is designed to work in low-gravity situations, using counter rotating bucket drums on each arm to collect and dump regolith for the extraction of hydrogen, oxygen, or water, resources critical for sustaining a habitable presence.
NASA’s RASSOR (Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot) conducts excavation testing of simulated regolith, or lunar dust found on the Moon’s surface, inside of the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. RASSOR is designed to work in low-gravity situations, using counter rotating bucket drums on each arm to collect and dump regolith for the extraction of hydrogen, oxygen, or water, resources critical for sustaining a habitable presence.
Ben Burdess, mechanical engineer, observes NASA’s RASSOR (Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot) excavation testing of simulated regolith, or lunar dust found on the Moon’s surface, inside of the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. RASSOR is designed to work in low-gravity situations, using counter rotating bucket drums on each arm to collect and dump regolith for the extraction of hydrogen, oxygen, or water, resources critical for sustaining a habitable presence.
Groups from the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) laboratory and the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory (ESPL) gather for a photograph to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Swamp Works at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 13, 2023. Studies of the mechanics of materials in a launch pad environment are performed in the GMRO lab. The team also develops technologies for handling lunar and Martian regolith, including excavator technologies, pneumatic transport of soil, and magnetic handling of soil. The ESPL group performs scientific investigations to protect flight hardware and launch equipment from the phenomenon of electrostatic discharges, commonly known as sparks.
Groups from the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) laboratory and the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory (ESPL) gather for a photograph to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Swamp Works at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 13, 2023. Studies of the mechanics of materials in a launch pad environment are performed in the GMRO lab. The team also develops technologies for handling lunar and Martian regolith, including excavator technologies, pneumatic transport of soil, and magnetic handling of soil. The ESPL group performs scientific investigations to protect flight hardware and launch equipment from the phenomenon of electrostatic discharges, commonly known as sparks.
NASA’s RASSOR (Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot) manipulates simulated regolith, or lunar dust found on the Moon’s surface, to create a three-foot berm during a site preparation test inside of the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. The opposing motion of the bucket drums helps RASSOR grip the surface in low-gravity environments like the Moon or Mars. With this unique capability, RASSOR can traverse the rough surface to dig, load, haul, and dump regolith that could be used in construction or broken down into hydrogen, oxygen, or water, resources critical for sustaining human presence. RASSOR represents an earlier generation technology that informed the development of NASA’s IPEx (In-Situ Resource Utilization Pilot Excavator), serving as a precursor and foundational platform for the advanced excavation systems and autonomous capabilities now being demonstrated by this Moon-mining robot.
NASA’s RASSOR (Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot) manipulates simulated regolith, or lunar dust found on the Moon’s surface, to create a three-foot berm during a site preparation test inside of the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. The opposing motion of the bucket drums helps RASSOR grip the surface in low-gravity environments like the Moon or Mars. With this unique capability, RASSOR can traverse the rough surface to dig, load, haul, and dump regolith that could be used in construction or broken down into hydrogen, oxygen, or water, resources critical for sustaining human presence. RASSOR represents an earlier generation technology that informed the development of NASA’s IPEx (In-Situ Resource Utilization Pilot Excavator), serving as a precursor and foundational platform for the advanced excavation systems and autonomous capabilities now being demonstrated by this Moon-mining robot.
NASA’s RASSOR (Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot) manipulates simulated regolith, or lunar dust found on the Moon’s surface, to create a three-foot berm during a site preparation test inside of the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. The opposing motion of the bucket drums helps RASSOR grip the surface in low-gravity environments like the Moon or Mars. With this unique capability, RASSOR can traverse the rough surface to dig, load, haul, and dump regolith that could be used in construction or broken down into hydrogen, oxygen, or water, resources critical for sustaining human presence. RASSOR represents an earlier generation technology that informed the development of NASA’s IPEx (In-Situ Resource Utilization Pilot Excavator), serving as a precursor and foundational platform for the advanced excavation systems and autonomous capabilities now being demonstrated by this Moon-mining robot.
NASA’s RASSOR (Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot) manipulates simulated regolith, or lunar dust found on the Moon’s surface, to create a three-foot berm during a site preparation test inside of the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. The opposing motion of the bucket drums helps RASSOR grip the surface in low-gravity environments like the Moon or Mars. With this unique capability, RASSOR can traverse the rough surface to dig, load, haul, and dump regolith that could be used in construction or broken down into hydrogen, oxygen, or water, resources critical for sustaining human presence. RASSOR represents an earlier generation technology that informed the development of NASA’s IPEx (In-Situ Resource Utilization Pilot Excavator), serving as a precursor and foundational platform for the advanced excavation systems and autonomous capabilities now being demonstrated by this Moon-mining robot.
NASA’s RASSOR (Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot) manipulates simulated regolith, or lunar dust found on the Moon’s surface, to create a three-foot berm during a site preparation test inside of the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. The opposing motion of the bucket drums helps RASSOR grip the surface in low-gravity environments like the Moon or Mars. With this unique capability, RASSOR can traverse the rough surface to dig, load, haul, and dump regolith that could be used in construction or broken down into hydrogen, oxygen, or water, resources critical for sustaining human presence. RASSOR represents an earlier generation technology that informed the development of NASA’s IPEx (In-Situ Resource Utilization Pilot Excavator), serving as a precursor and foundational platform for the advanced excavation systems and autonomous capabilities now being demonstrated by this Moon-mining robot.
NASA’s RASSOR (Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot) manipulates simulated regolith, or lunar dust found on the Moon’s surface, to create a three-foot berm during a site preparation test inside of the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. The opposing motion of the bucket drums helps RASSOR grip the surface in low-gravity environments like the Moon or Mars. With this unique capability, RASSOR can traverse the rough surface to dig, load, haul, and dump regolith that could be used in construction or broken down into hydrogen, oxygen, or water, resources critical for sustaining human presence. RASSOR represents an earlier generation technology that informed the development of NASA’s IPEx (In-Situ Resource Utilization Pilot Excavator), serving as a precursor and foundational platform for the advanced excavation systems and autonomous capabilities now being demonstrated by this Moon-mining robot.
Researchers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center are testing the various types of seals for electric motors that drive the Volatiels Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, wheels at Swamp Works.
Researchers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center are testing the various types of seals for electric motors that drive the Volatiels Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, wheels at Swamp Works.
Researchers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center are testing the various types of seals for electric motors that drive the Volatiels Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, wheels at Swamp Works.
Researchers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center are testing the various types of seals for electric motors that drive the Volatiels Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, wheels at Swamp Works.
Researchers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center are testing the various types of seals for electric motors that drive the Volatiels Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, wheels at Swamp Works.
A team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida assesses the Dust Concentration Monitor and the Millimeter Wave Doppler Radar inside a regolith bin at the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) lab at the spaceport’s Swamp Works on July 28, 2022, as part of Plume Surface Interaction (PSI) Instrumentation testing. The PSI Project is advancing both modeling and testing capabilities to understand exactly how rocket exhaust plumes affect a planetary landing site. This advanced modeling will help engineers evaluate the risks of various plumes on planetary surfaces, which will help them more accurately design landers for particular locations.
A team from the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab tests the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) in the regolith bin inside Swamp Works at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 5, 2019. Tests use a gravity assist offload system to simulate reduced gravity conditions found on the Moon. On the surface of the Moon, mining robots like RASSOR will excavate the regolith and take the material to a processing plant where usable elements such as hydrogen, oxygen and water can be extracted for life support systems. RASSOR can scoop up icy regolith which can be used to make operations on the Moon sustainable.
The Dust Concentration Monitor and the Millimeter Wave Doppler Radar undergo testing inside a regolith bin at the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) lab at the Kennedy Space Center’s Swamp Works on July 28, 2022, as part of Plume Surface Interaction (PSI) Instrumentation testing. The PSI Project is advancing both modeling and testing capabilities to understand exactly how rocket exhaust plumes affect a planetary landing site. This advanced modeling will help engineers evaluate the risks of various plumes on planetary surfaces, which will help them more accurately design landers for particular locations.
A team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida assesses the Dust Concentration Monitor and the Millimeter Wave Doppler Radar inside a regolith bin at the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) lab at the spaceport’s Swamp Works on July 28, 2022, as part of Plume Surface Interaction (PSI) Instrumentation testing. The PSI Project is advancing both modeling and testing capabilities to understand exactly how rocket exhaust plumes affect a planetary landing site. This advanced modeling will help engineers evaluate the risks of various plumes on planetary surfaces, which will help them more accurately design landers for particular locations.
A team from the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab tests the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) in the regolith bin inside Swamp Works at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 5, 2019. Tests use a gravity assist offload system to simulate reduced gravity conditions found on the Moon. On the surface of the Moon, mining robots like RASSOR will excavate the regolith and take the material to a processing plant where usable elements such as hydrogen, oxygen and water can be extracted for life support systems. RASSOR can scoop up icy regolith which can be used to make operations on the Moon sustainable.
A team from the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab tests the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) in the regolith bin inside Swamp Works at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 5, 2019. Tests use a gravity assist offload system to simulate reduced gravity conditions found on the Moon. On the surface of the Moon, mining robots like RASSOR will excavate the regolith and take the material to a processing plant where usable elements such as hydrogen, oxygen and water can be extracted for life support systems. RASSOR can scoop up icy regolith which can be used to make operations on the Moon sustainable.
A team from the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab tests the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) in the regolith bin inside Swamp Works at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 5, 2019. Tests use a gravity assist offload system to simulate reduced gravity conditions found on the Moon. On the surface of the Moon, mining robots like RASSOR will excavate the regolith and take the material to a processing plant where usable elements such as hydrogen, oxygen and water can be extracted for life support systems. RASSOR can scoop up icy regolith which can be used to make operations on the Moon sustainable.
A team from the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab tests the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) in the regolith bin inside Swamp Works at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 5, 2019. Tests use a gravity assist offload system to simulate reduced gravity conditions found on the Moon. On the surface of the Moon, mining robots like RASSOR will excavate the regolith and take the material to a processing plant where usable elements such as hydrogen, oxygen and water can be extracted for life support systems. RASSOR can scoop up icy regolith which can be used to make operations on the Moon sustainable.
The Dust Concentration Monitor and the Millimeter Wave Doppler Radar undergo testing inside a regolith bin at the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) lab at the Kennedy Space Center’s Swamp Works on July 28, 2022, as part of Plume Surface Interaction (PSI) Instrumentation testing. The PSI Project is advancing both modeling and testing capabilities to understand exactly how rocket exhaust plumes affect a planetary landing site. This advanced modeling will help engineers evaluate the risks of various plumes on planetary surfaces, which will help them more accurately design landers for particular locations.
A team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida assesses the Dust Concentration Monitor and the Millimeter Wave Doppler Radar inside a regolith bin at the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) lab at the spaceport’s Swamp Works on July 28, 2022, as part of Plume Surface Interaction (PSI) Instrumentation testing. The PSI Project is advancing both modeling and testing capabilities to understand exactly how rocket exhaust plumes affect a planetary landing site. This advanced modeling will help engineers evaluate the risks of various plumes on planetary surfaces, which will help them more accurately design landers for particular locations.
AJ Nick, a robotic engineer with the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab, monitors the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) from a control room during testing in the regolith bin inside Swamp Works at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 5, 2019. Tests use a gravity assist offload system to simulate reduced gravity conditions found on the Moon. On the surface of the Moon, mining robots like RASSOR will excavate the regolith and take the material to a processing plant where usable elements such as hydrogen, oxygen and water can be extracted for life support systems. RASSOR can scoop up icy regolith which can be used to make operations on the Moon sustainable.
A team from the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab tests the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) in the regolith bin inside Swamp Works at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 5, 2019. Tests use a gravity assist offload system to simulate reduced gravity conditions found on the Moon. On the surface of the Moon, mining robots like RASSOR will excavate the regolith and take the material to a processing plant where usable elements such as hydrogen, oxygen and water can be extracted for life support systems. RASSOR can scoop up icy regolith which can be used to make operations on the Moon sustainable.
A team from the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab tests the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) in the regolith bin inside Swamp Works at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 5, 2019. Tests use a gravity assist offload system to simulate reduced gravity conditions found on the Moon. On the surface of the Moon, mining robots like RASSOR will excavate the regolith and take the material to a processing plant where usable elements such as hydrogen, oxygen and water can be extracted for life support systems. RASSOR can scoop up icy regolith which can be used to make operations on the Moon sustainable.
A team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida assesses the Dust Concentration Monitor and the Millimeter Wave Doppler Radar inside a regolith bin at the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) lab at the spaceport’s Swamp Works on July 28, 2022, as part of Plume Surface Interaction (PSI) Instrumentation testing. The PSI Project is advancing both modeling and testing capabilities to understand exactly how rocket exhaust plumes affect a planetary landing site. This advanced modeling will help engineers evaluate the risks of various plumes on planetary surfaces, which will help them more accurately design landers for particular locations.
A team from the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab tests the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) in the regolith bin inside Swamp Works at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 5, 2019. Tests use a gravity assist offload system to simulate reduced gravity conditions found on the Moon. On the surface of the Moon, mining robots like RASSOR will excavate the regolith and take the material to a processing plant where usable elements such as hydrogen, oxygen and water can be extracted for life support systems. RASSOR can scoop up icy regolith which can be used to make operations on the Moon sustainable.
A team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida tests small- and medium-sized bucket drums July 16, 2021, in the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab’s “big bin” during prototype development for the pilot excavator, a robotic mission designed for lunar operations. The bucket drum excavated lunar regolith simulant. The Swamp Works team leveled and compacted the simulant before excavation as well as measured penetration during the excavator testing. Robotics engineers Jason Schuler and Austin Langton worked inside the bin, teaming up with software engineer Kurt Leucht, who worked just outside of it.
A team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida tests small- and medium-sized bucket drums July 16, 2021, in the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab’s “big bin” during prototype development for the pilot excavator, a robotic mission designed for lunar operations. The bucket drum excavated lunar regolith simulant. The Swamp Works team leveled and compacted the simulant before excavation as well as measured penetration during the excavator testing. Robotics engineers Jason Schuler and Austin Langton worked inside the bin, teaming up with software engineer Kurt Leucht, who worked just outside of it.
A team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida tests small- and medium-sized bucket drums July 16, 2021, in the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab’s “big bin” during prototype development for the pilot excavator, a robotic mission designed for lunar operations. The bucket drum excavated lunar regolith simulant. The Swamp Works team leveled and compacted the simulant before excavation as well as measured penetration during the excavator testing. Robotics engineers Jason Schuler and Austin Langton worked inside the bin, teaming up with software engineer Kurt Leucht, who worked just outside of it.
A team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida tests small- and medium-sized bucket drums July 16, 2021, in the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab’s “big bin” during prototype development for the pilot excavator, a robotic mission designed for lunar operations. The bucket drum excavated lunar regolith simulant. The Swamp Works team leveled and compacted the simulant before excavation as well as measured penetration during the excavator testing. Robotics engineers Jason Schuler and Austin Langton worked inside the bin, teaming up with software engineer Kurt Leucht, who worked just outside of it.
A team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida tests small- and medium-sized bucket drums July 16, 2021, in the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab’s “big bin” during prototype development for the pilot excavator, a robotic mission designed for lunar operations. The bucket drum excavated lunar regolith simulant. The Swamp Works team leveled and compacted the simulant before excavation as well as measured penetration during the excavator testing. Robotics engineers Jason Schuler and Austin Langton worked inside the bin, teaming up with software engineer Kurt Leucht, who worked just outside of it.
A team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida tests small- and medium-sized bucket drums July 16, 2021, in the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab’s “big bin” during prototype development for the pilot excavator, a robotic mission designed for lunar operations. The bucket drum excavated lunar regolith simulant. The Swamp Works team leveled and compacted the simulant before excavation as well as measured penetration during the excavator testing. Robotics engineers Jason Schuler and Austin Langton worked inside the bin, teaming up with software engineer Kurt Leucht, who worked just outside of it.
A team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida tests small- and medium-sized bucket drums July 16, 2021, in the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab’s “big bin” during prototype development for the pilot excavator, a robotic mission designed for lunar operations. The bucket drum excavated lunar regolith simulant. The Swamp Works team leveled and compacted the simulant before excavation as well as measured penetration during the excavator testing. Robotics engineers Jason Schuler and Austin Langton worked inside the bin, teaming up with software engineer Kurt Leucht, who worked just outside of it.
A team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida tests small- and medium-sized bucket drums July 16, 2021, in the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab’s “big bin” during prototype development for the pilot excavator, a robotic mission designed for lunar operations. The bucket drum excavated lunar regolith simulant. The Swamp Works team leveled and compacted the simulant before excavation as well as measured penetration during the excavator testing. Robotics engineers Jason Schuler and Austin Langton worked inside the bin, teaming up with software engineer Kurt Leucht, who worked just outside of it.
Austin Langton, a researcher at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, creates a fine spray of the regolith simulant BP-1, to perform testing with a Millimeter Wave Doppler Radar at the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab on July 16, 2021. The testing occurred inside the "Big Bin," an enclosure at Swamp Works that holds 120 tons of regolith simulant. The testing at the Florida spaceport is part of a project to predict plume surface interaction effects on the Moon, with testing happening at Kennedy, and NASA's Marshal Space Flight Center and Glenn Research Center.
Dr. Carlos Calle, lead scientist in the Kennedy Space Center's Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory, left, and Jay Phillips, a research physicist, are modifying an electrostatic precipitator to help remove dust from a simulated Martian atmosphere. NASA's Journey to Mars requires cutting-edge technologies to solve the problems explorers will face on the Red Planet. Scientists are developing some of the needed solutions by adapting a device to remove the ever-present dust from valuable elements in the Martian atmosphere. Those commodities include oxygen, water and methane.
Jay Phillips, a research physicist in the Kennedy Space Center's Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory, left, and Dr. Carlos Calle, lead scientist in the lab, are modifying an electrostatic precipitator to help remove dust from simulated Martian atmosphere. NASA's Journey to Mars requires cutting-edge technologies to solve the problems explorers will face on the Red Planet. Scientists are developing some of the needed solutions by adapting a device to remove the ever-present dust from valuable elements in the Martian atmosphere. Those commodities include oxygen, water and methane.
Dr. Carlos Calle, lead scientist in the Kennedy Space Center's Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory, left, and Jay Phillips, a research physicist, are modifying an electrostatic precipitator to help remove dust from simulated Martian atmosphere. NASA's Journey to Mars requires cutting-edge technologies to solve the problems explorers will face on the Red Planet. Scientists are developing some of the needed solutions by adapting a device to remove the ever-present dust from valuable elements in the Martian atmosphere. Those commodities include oxygen, water and methane.
Drew Smith, a robotics engineer, makes adjustments to the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) during testing in the regolith bin inside Swamp Works at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 5, 2019. Smith and other members of the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab run tests, which simulates the Moon’s reduced gravity using the gravity assist offload system to see how RASSOR excavates regolith. On the surface of the Moon, mining robots like RASSOR will excavate the regolith and take the material to a processing plant where usable elements such as hydrogen, oxygen and water can be extracted for life support systems. RASSOR can scoop up icy regolith which can be used to make operations on the Moon sustainable.
Drew Smith, a robotics engineer, makes adjustments to the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) during testing in the regolith bin inside Swamp Works at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 5, 2019. Smith and other members of the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab run tests, which simulates the Moon’s reduced gravity using the gravity assist offload system to see how RASSOR excavates regolith. On the surface of the Moon, mining robots like RASSOR will excavate the regolith and take the material to a processing plant where usable elements such as hydrogen, oxygen and water can be extracted for life support systems. RASSOR can scoop up icy regolith which can be used to make operations on the Moon sustainable.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- During a visit to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA Chief Technologist David Miller, right, tours laboratories inside the Swamp Works facility. At left, Dr. Carlos Calle, lead in the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory, demonstrates a system that uses an electric field wave to move simulated moon dust away from surfaces. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett