“Pushing the Boundaries of Space: The NASA Super Ball Bot”

            Space exploration is crucial to humanity, for many reasons that we often do not realize. Besides satisfying our thirst for knowledge with what is beyond our Earth, it has provided us with new heights of technological innovations in various fields such as medicine, the environment, and engineering. Some notable inventions were the artificial heart that was discovered because of experiments on the space shuttle in partnership with Dr. Michael Debakey and the hand held “Jaws of Life” that is used to rescue victims from vehicular accidents came from the separation of the space shuttle and its booster rockets. Water filtration systems as well as better management of natural disasters and the environment are also some of the benefits.. Lastly, space exploration answers fundamental questions of humanity regarding the knowledge of existence of life on earth. Considering the state of our planet today, finding potential homes outside Earth is a great benefit. Space exploration is an important investment by the government public. Until now, scientists continually pursue experiments and inventions in order to widen their knowledge of space and exploration.

             The NASA Super Ball Bot is one of the recent advancements in this field, discovered by Vytas SunSpiral and Adrian Agogino from the NASA Ames Research Center. Gearing away from rigid robotics and following the new concept of tensegrity, the Super Ball Bot is a structure composed of polls or rods that are linked together built of stretchable and compressible parts. Tensegrity, introduced by Buckminster Fuller, is a concept combining the idea of tension and integrity, wherein structures achieve stability through tensional forces. Because of this, the Super Ball Bot is capable of enduring large impact and is able to resist landing failures more than the rovers of today. Observing its design, it will be able to navigate through space more easily because it is deformable. Currently, rovers that are used are large and expensive, making it difficult to move through extreme terrains while in other planets such as the Mars Curiosity Rover. Number is also a dilemma since only a few rovers can be sent to space because of harsh conditions. This new form of technology solves this problem because of its flexible and light weight characteristics as well as its small size. Ideally, relatively large numbers of these structures will be sent to space and will detach itself from each other when the destination is reached. Lastly, The Super Ball Bot is cheaper, thus creating greater efficiency in terms of costs within NASA. It is currently being improved in the NASA Ames Research Center and was given Phase I from NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts last 2012 and Phase II for 2013.

            Space Exploration is a fundamental part of science, that betters the lives of individuals, giving them knowledge and new forms of technology for the benefit of humanity. It is therefore important that new forms of innovation within this field are given attention by professionals who continually challenge the boundaries of knowledge and creation. The Super Ball Bot is one of the important discoveries that allow for space exploration to be possible.

By: Kristine Faith Valle

2013-14356 STS THY             

References

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Ross, Philip. 2013. NASA Super Ball Bot Can Surive 60-Mile Landing Drop Onto Alien World Without Landing Equipment. http://www.ibtimes.com/nasa-super-ball-bot-can-survive-60-mile-drop-alien-world-without-landing-equipment-1521958. March 9, 2014