Over the past week, NASA announced plans to "land an operational humanoid robot on the moon in 1,000 days". That means we could have robots doing an Armstrong on the home planet's natural satellite come 2013.
"Project M" will have these humanoid robots land on the moon, and carry out experiments designed by students. The objective is to get the American public—particularly curious school kids—excited about space travel again. Given NASA's track record for planning and implementation, the 3-year timetable is quite demanding.
Of particular note—other than these robonauts current lack of a lower body—is that construction of the lander for this future moon mission will be outsourced to Armadillo Aerospace. Armadillo was founded by John D. Carmack, known for his programming work on popular shooters like Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Quake.
NASA Turns to Caddo Mills-Based Armadillo Aerospace to Put "Robonauts" on Moon by 2013
