NASA's 'Mighty Eagle' Green Robotic Lander Soars High In The Sky

At the NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, engineers are busy testing their robotic lander. It is nicknamed as the 'Mighty Eagle'. After undergoing a series of tests in 2011, the engineering team at NASA has enhanced the lander's autonomous hover capabilities by updating its camera for guidance controls. The 4 feet tall and 8 feet wide Mighty Eagle is three-legged and is as green as it can get. Running on 90% pure hydrogen peroxide, the giant 700-pound lander accepts commands from an onboard computer and activates its thrusters. It follows a pre-programmed flight profile and carries out a controlled landing.

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During the 34-second flight, the Mighty Eagle soared and hovered at 30 feet, moved sideways, looked for its target and safely landed on the launchpad.

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Marshall Center engineers Logan Kennedy, right, and Adam Lacock check out the lander prototype, dubbed the "Mighty Eagle"

In order to achieve their goal of performing an autonomously controlled perfect final descent on the moon or asteroids across the solar system, the engineers will conduct tests to make the Mightly Eagle hover at 30 feet and then up to 100 feet through September. Dr. Greg Chavers, engineering manager and warm gas test article lead at the Marshall Center says, "These test furthers our knowledge of the engineering components needed for future human and robotic missions."

Via: #-Link-Snipped-# | Source: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/lunarquest/robotic/12-085.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NASA - NASA's 'Mighty Eagle' Robotic Prototype Lander Flies Again at Marshall</a>