Do YOU want to drive a rover on the moon? 22 year old US student reveals plan to put virtual reality rover on the lunar surface and let anyone control it
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It is every wannabe astronaut's dream - the chance to pilot a rover across the lunar surface.
Now, it could be a reality for thousands thanks to a plan to put a groundbreaing virtual reality rover on the moon.
The project would allow anyone to experience the lunar surface by donning an Oculus Rift virtual reality headset.
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Daniel Shafrir, engineer and leader of the demo team with Andy, the rover they hope to send to the moon in 2016
Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University say their robot already has the backing of Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart, and is vying for a $30m prize from Google offered to a team that can send video back from the moon.
'The vision for the demo was simple: let anyone on Earth experience the moon live through the eyes of a robot,' engineering graduate student, Daniel Shafrir, 22, who is part of the three man team, told MailOnline.
'Put the headset on and you look to your left, you see the vast expanse of the moon.
'You look right and you see home.
You're looking to to see what it's really like on the moon.'
The scientists from Carnegie Mellon have teamed up with space firm Astrobotic to compete for the Google Lunar XPrize, which requires a team to land a robot on the Moon, move it 500m and send back video to Earth.
Astrobotic Technology, which is a spin-off from Carnegie Mellon, has signed a deal with SpaceX - the private space company set up by Elon Musk - to use its Falcon 9 rocket to launch the robot in 2016.
'Imagine the feeling of looking out and seeing rocks and craters billions of years old.
'Right now its almost impossible to go to the moo,' said Schafrir.
'We make it so you can drop an Oculus on, take a look around and feel as if you're really there.
'People have to feel like they are there on the moon with us - there's something tangible about moving your head and knowing that 240,000 miles away our rover is moving its head as well.'
The robot is named Andy, after Andrew Carnegie, founder of Carnegie Mellon, and the initial demo was put together in just three weeks.
The team hopes the project, and the chance to virtually visit the moon, will reinvigorate public interest in space.
'It's time to go back,' said Shafrir
'We left our last footprint on the moon on December 14, 1972.
'Unfortunately, that passion, that amazing enthusiasm that gripped the world throughout the entire Apollo program just isn't there anymore.
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