Carnegie Mellon University Students Will Send Iris, a Shoebox-Sized Lunar Rover, to the Moon

You’ll find Carnegie Mellon University’s Iris alongside the STELLS Mobile Power Rover on the Moon’s surface if all goes to plan. At just over 4-pounds, this shoebox-sized device will become the first American, student-developed, smallest and lightest rover to land on the moon. It comes equipped with cameras to facilitate both its guidance as well as scientific observations of the Moon’s terrain.

The team is making final preparations including attaching Iris to the lander. However, before that happened it had to pass a series of tests to ensure that it could fit in its allotted space, withstand the vibrations expected during launch, endure the vacuum of space and survive the temperatures expected on the lunar surface. It will launch on a private rocket carrying 14 payloads to the Moon on May 4th.

In space, what matters is what flies, and soon you’ll see irrefutable proof that what Carnegie Mellon has accomplished in planetary exploration matters a great deal,” said William “Red” Whittaker, the Founders University Research Professor in the Robotics Institute.