Meet Hedgehog, NASA’s Cute New Cube Bot Comet Explorer

NASA’s developed a brand new type of bot that they want to use to explore comets. Called Hedgehog, it consists of a cube body which contains all the instruments any science bot would need on-the-go. But most intriguing is how it moves around.

On the inside of the bot, there are some flywheels that spin at incredible speeds. When a brake is triggered, the flywheel stops, and the momentum sends the bot flying in a specified direction. The physics of it are quite intriguing, and so is watching it in action. The neatest thing is the little “cyclone” maneuver that it uses to get itself out of little sand pits.

Still, it’s no BB-8. But do you get why they call it Hedgehog now? Eh? Eeeh? Yeaaah, there it is.

(via BBC)

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Jessica Lachenal

Jessica Lachenal is a writer who doesn’t talk about herself a lot, so she isn’t quite sure how biographical info panels should work. But here we go anyway. She's the Weekend Editor for The Mary Sue, a Contributing Writer for The Bold Italic (thebolditalic.com), and a Staff Writer for Spinning Platters (spinningplatters.com). She's also been featured in Model View Culture and Frontiers LA magazine, and on Autostraddle. She hopes this has been as awkward for you as it has been for her.

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