Beneath the Lunar Surface

My crew consists of a team with a variety of skills, such as a biologist, a geologist, a physicist, an engineer, and a medic. Our crew is capable of adapting to changing environments and unexpected problems, and we work well together. I can make jokes and laugh with my crew, and I know them well enough to trust their judgement. The tech we are bringing to the moon is Bluecap. Bluecap is a robot designed to search and collect data from inside the magma tunnels under the lunar surface. Blue is made of the same materials as the Perseverance Rover, but the structure is different. Blue has a rounded rectangular body that stores the electronics, with a round head and camera that can rotate 360°. Instead of wheels, Blue has four articulated legs with aluminum grips on the ends, which makes it more mobile and agile than the Mars rovers. Its body structure is similar to that of a dog or other quadruped, and it can survive in extreme environments. It’s powered by MMRTG, and it has solar panels to collect extra charge whenever it makes its way to the surface. Blue has sensors so that it can detect the stability of the lava tube, and it continually updates its internal map of everywhere it has explored. During our week-long mission on the surface, we will take a first hand look at lava tubes that Blue has mapped out as safe to enter. We will collect samples and search for minerals and other data that will be useful for future missions and experiments. When our mission concludes, we will return with the data and samples and Bluecap will be left on the lunar surface for further remote-control exploration of the lava tubes that run under the surface of the moon.