GM Teams Up with NASA Build Robotic Astronaut

President Barack Obama's plans to nix a proposed manned space flight back to the moon mean that an American may not step foot on the moon for many more years. However, thanks to a collaboration between General Motors and NASA, we might be able to send someone else to the moon -- a robot that is also an astronaut, called a "robonaut".

GM and and NASA are working to speed up the development of the next generation of robots that will have applications for both building cars and use in space flights. A product of the collaboration between scientists at GM and NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, have built a robonaut called Robonaut 2, or for short, R2. It claims to be the most technological advanced robot, and is faster and more dexterous than before.

If you thought a collaboration between a car manufacturer and the nation's space program was a bit odd, it's really not. GM has worked with NASA in the past, and was involved in the space program during the 1960s. GM built navigation systems for the Apollo missions, as well as helped to develop the Lunar Rover.

Alan Taub, GM's vice president for global research and development commented:

"When it comes to future vehicles, the advancements in controls, sensors and vision technology can be used to develop advanced vehicle safety systems."

Mike Coats, the director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, also said in a statement:

"Our challenge today is to build machines that can help humans work and explore in space. Working side by side with humans, or going where the risks are too great for people, machines like Robonaut will expand our capability for construction and discovery."

If the president won't fund a manned trip to the moon, perhaps we'll soon be able to send robots instead.