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The countdown has begun on Mexico’s first mission to the moon. The launch of a rocket that will include five Mexican microbots will occur on Jan. 8 in Cape Canaveral, Florida — as long as atmospheric conditions are right and other technical factors are in order.
Created by a team of Mexican scientists and nearly 250 university students, the microbots each weigh about 60 grams and are 12 cm in diameter — a tad smaller than a standard saucer for a coffee cup.
On the moon, the bots will recognize one another, connect electronically and then assemble a panel that can generate energy. The project is dubbed “Colmena,” which means beehive in Spanish.
“This project will make history and is the first of its kind in Latin America,” Salvador Landeros, director of the Mexican Space Agency (AEM), said in a Dec. 22 press release. The project “speaks very well of Mexico, confirming once again that Mexican engineering is at the level of the best in the world,” he added.
mexiconewsdaily.com
Created by a team of Mexican scientists and nearly 250 university students, the microbots each weigh about 60 grams and are 12 cm in diameter — a tad smaller than a standard saucer for a coffee cup.
On the moon, the bots will recognize one another, connect electronically and then assemble a panel that can generate energy. The project is dubbed “Colmena,” which means beehive in Spanish.
“This project will make history and is the first of its kind in Latin America,” Salvador Landeros, director of the Mexican Space Agency (AEM), said in a Dec. 22 press release. The project “speaks very well of Mexico, confirming once again that Mexican engineering is at the level of the best in the world,” he added.
Mexico's first lunar mission is ready for launch
Five microbots engineered in Mexico will start their journey to the moon from Cape Canaveral next month as part of NASA's Artemis program.
mexiconewsdaily.com
