China has unveiled an AI-powered humanoid robot that it plans to send to the Moon as part of its 2029 Chang’e-8 mission.
Designed by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), the 100 kilogram (220 pound) robot will act as a porter to transport and install instruments at various lunar locations ahead of a crewed landing.
It features a humanoid upper body with two arms set atop a four-wheeled module equipped with solar panels.
“We have heard that Chang’e-7 is probably going to see the first humanoid robot landing on the [Moon’s] south pole. But our robot will go to a different part of the south pole – it is a very large area and we are curious about all of it,” HKUST professor Gao Yang told the South China Morning Post.
“This will be a novel demonstration of humanoid robotics on the Moon and by China. We are very proud of this design.”
She added that the robot’s onboard artificial intelligence will be able to “identify and trace objects, allowing it to formulate a strategy before executing a task.”
China is planning to send humans to the lunar surface by 2030, having pursued a highly ambitious space program over the last few decades.
Nasa is aiming to return astronauts to the surface of the Moon by 2028 as part of the Artemis IV mission, having originally planned a crewed lunar landing for 2024.
The timeline has shifted several times due to technical hurdles and development delays, with some experts warning that it could be pushed back even further if significant progress is not made this year with SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System (HLS).
The massive size of the spacecraft means it requires orbital refueling in order to land and return safely – something that has never been achieved at this scale.
At a Senate Committee hearing in September, former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said the complexities of the HLS could see the US fall behind China in the race to return humans to the Moon.
“Our complicated architecture requires a dozen or more launches in a short time frame, relies on very challenging technologies that have yet to be developed, like cryogenic in-space refueling, and still needs to be human rated,” he said.
“Unless something changes, it is highly unlikely the United States will beat China’s projected timeline to the Moon’s surface.”
SpaceX’s Starship has only performed two test flights since his comments, with the next one scheduled to take place later this month.
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