7 October 1998

Carnegie Mellon Robot Prepares for Antarctica By Practicing Its Moves in a Local Freezer

Carnegie Mellon University's Nomad robot, which made an unprecedented 133-mile journey through Chile's Atacama Desert in the summer of 1997, will be shipped to Patriot Hills in Antarctica October 15, so that researchers can test technologies that will enable it to search for Martian meteorites on the frozen continent. The ultimate goal of the project, which is funded by NASA, is to use the instruments and systems tested in Antarctica for planetary exploration. To prepare for the tests, researchers have been putting Nomad through its paces in a 3.8 million-cubic-foot freezer where temperatures range from -25 to -40 degrees F. The facility is operated by New Federal Cold Storage Company, which is owned in part by the Robert Wholey Company.

Event:
Join Nomad and Carnegie Mellon researchers for a taste of Antarctica just 20 minutes from downtown Pittsburgh. See Nomad perform inside the freezer.

When: 1:00 pm, Wednesday, October 7.

Where New Federal Cold Storage, Cranberry Township. Take 279 N to 79 N. Get off at exit 25, Cranberry. Take 19 N through Cranberry. Make a left onto Ogleview. Continue to a stop sign where the road makes a T. Make a right onto Unionville. Stay on Unionville until you come to another stop sign. Traco Door will be on your right. Bear left at the Y and continue on Unionville. When you reach West Kensinger Drive, make a left. The freezer facility is at the end of the road.

Be sure to bring a coat and gloves if you want to spend time in the freezer with the robot.

For more information about the search for Antarctic meteorites, check the Web site: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~meteorite.

Contact:

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