Moon Express Hires Champions from FIRST Robotics Competition for Robotics Innovation Lab

Moon Express has set up a laboratory that exclusively develops robotic technology for lunar exploration missions. The Moon Express Robotics Lab for Innovation (MERLIN) has hired some of the brilliant engineering students who gained popularity by winning the FIRST Robotics Competition.

MERLIN will focus mainly on developing robotic technology that aids the lunar exploration missions undertaken by Moon Express led by Macro Chacin. Macro Chacin is PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the International Space University and has been instrumental in developing robotic solutions for missions such as JAXA and ISAS that were responsible for collecting asteroid samples.

The current batch of engineering students hired by Moon Express was coached by the NASA Ames Robotics Academy in their developmental work on lunar micro-rover projects. The CEO of Moon Express pointed out that MERLIN comprised of successful and bright engineering students who have shown that they have mastered robotic concepts through the FIRST Robotics Competition. The MERLIN launch team is led by Marco Chacin with Matt Carberry, Kevin Huang, Brandon Plaster and others as the team members. The team will initially be working on the development and demonstration of the design for the micro-rover which will be exploring the lunar site. The micro-rover could be integrated with the lander system developed by Moon Express and NASA. The micro-rovers will be operated along with the micro-hopper systems that are being developed by Moon Express to provide a complete, flexible system for mobility on the lunar surface.

Source: http://www.moonexpress.com/