Mexican scientists plan to send the first batch of autonomous mini-robots to the moon as part of the Colmena (Beehive) project, aimed at developing minerals in space. The launch is scheduled for June this year.

"Colmena will demonstrate that very small robots, when working together, can be researchers and miners," Gustavo Medina Tanko, head of the space instrumentation laboratory at the Nuclear Research Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying.

As part of the first mission - five robots with a diameter of 12 centimeters each and weighing about 60 grams. Their work on the Moon will last about 13 Earth days.

The Colmena project was launched in 2016 to explore the potential of mini-robots to work in space and the possibilities of their self-organization, as well as the potential for mining rare earth metals from asteroids.

bbabo.Net