Chinese scientists have designed a semi-humanoid robot mounted on wheels to help construct a future lunar research station. The robot combines human-like upper body dexterity with a stable wheeled platform to perform construction, maintenance, and sampling on the moon’s surface.
Researchers from the Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering published their proposal in the Journal of Deep Space Exploration in December. The robot is part of China’s plan to build the International Lunar Research Base (ILRS) with international partners near the moon’s south pole by 2035.
Building a permanent base on the moon requires robots that can both move across rough terrain and perform delicate tasks. Traditional bipedal walking robots struggle with stability on the uneven lunar surface. The extreme cold, rugged landscape, and fine dust make every operation difficult. China’s previous Yutu lunar rovers and Zhurong Mars rover all used wheels for reliable movement.
READ ALSO: https://modernmechanics24.com/post/military-ai-boom-startups-defense-tech/
The robot features a wheeled base with a metal mesh structure and steel-wire treads, making it lightweight, durable, and able to absorb shocks in extreme cold. Its upper body includes a waist that can rotate 180 degrees in either direction and bend forward up to 90 degrees. The nimble hand has four degrees of freedom, allowing it to perform precise manipulation for scientific work.
The robot will traverse the lunar surface to help construct the ILRS, then assist with maintenance, experiments, and sample collection. The wheeled design provides a steady platform for the upper body to work, moving faster and more stably than walking robots. The team also proposed a six-legged cargo platform that can soft-land on the moon and walk while carrying equipment, ensuring three legs stay grounded at all times for maximum stability.
The robot remains in the proposal stage and has not yet been built or tested on the moon. No country has successfully built a scientific base on another celestial body before, making this a massive challenge with no prior experience to guide it. The researchers noted that no single country can bear the full cost of developing all required equipment, meaning international cooperation will be essential.
WATCH ALSO: https://modernmechanics24.com/post/humanoid-robots-engage-chat-unscripted/
China is actively preparing for the lunar base, with the Chang’e-7 mission launching later this year to search for water ice near the moon’s south pole. Scientists have also been testing simulated lunar bricks aboard the Tiangong space station and designing a lunar GPS system. This semi-humanoid robot represents a key piece of infrastructure that could help make the first human-built base on another world a reality within a decade.
