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Lunar Robots Put to Test on Sicily's Mount Etna

by Associated Press

   MOUNT ETNA, ITALY --

   A robot wheels across a rocky, windswept landscape that looks like the
   surface of some distant planet from a science fiction film. But it is
   not in outer space, it's on the slopes of Europe's most active volcano.

   Mount Etna, in Sicily, is a test bed for the approximately three-foot
   high, four-wheeled machine ahead of a future mission to the moon. It is
   being conducted by the German Aerospace Center, the agency which runs
   Germany's space program.

   The program has enlisted experts from Germany, Britain, the United
   States and Italy to research ROBEX (Robotic Exploration of Extreme
   Environments) with the aim of improving robotic equipment that will be
   used in space.

   "This is aimed at simulating a future, hypothetical landing mission on
   the moon or Mars and they use a lot of robots which are there to
   transport and install different instruments", said Boris Behncke, a
   volcanologist from the National Vulcanology Institute in Catania, near
   Mount Etna.

   Scientists also hope to use the robots to explore the depths of Mount
   Etna and relay back useful technical data on seismic movement. The
   techniques learnt on Etna would then be deployed in lunar missions or
   in the exploration of Mars.

   An initial robotic testing phase has nearly been completed on the Piano
   del Lago area of the volcano, a desolate stretch of terrain buffeted by
   strong winds.

   Next, a network of equipment including rover robots and drones will be
   mounted to monitor seismic activity that closely simulates that which
   would be used on the moon.