Billionaire Elon Musk is planning to send humanoid robots called Optimus to Mars by the end of next year.
The SpaceX and Tesla founder posted on social media platform X on Thursday that the robot would blast off aboard Starship, a rocket that the aerospace company has been developing for deep space missions. Tesla is behind the robot, which uses advanced artificial intelligence to perform tasks, including walking, lifting and climbing stairs.
“Starship will hopefully depart for Mars at the end of next year with Optimus explorer robots,” he said.
Mr Musk, who has been campaigning heavily to make humanity “a multi-planetary species”, first revealed these plans on March 15 on an X post. “If those landings go well, then human landings may start as soon as 2029 – although 2031 is more likely,” he said.
SpaceX has been developing the powerful rocket for several years, with eight orbital test flights so far that are helping the company edge closer to starting commercial operations of the vehicle.
Starship is a two-stage launch vehicle, including the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft, which together can produce 3,991 tonnes of thrust – 15 per cent more than Nasa’s Apollo Moon rocket Saturn V.
In the latest test flight on March 6, the booster successfully delivered the spacecraft to space and returned for a catch by mechanical arms on a launch tower. The spacecraft, however, was lost after 9 minutes and 30 seconds after the lift-off.
Mr Musk has ambitions to send one million people to Mars, stating that the Red Planet is “critical to the long-term survival of consciousness”. Sending robots there first could help prepare space agencies for crewed missions to Mars, as they can operate in harsh environments.
A robot could help identify potential hazards and scout locations for human settlement. On its website, Tesla described Optimus as capable of performing “unsafe, repetitive or boring tasks”.
“Achieving that end goal requires building the software stacks that enable balance, navigation perception and interaction with the physical world,” the company said.
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Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
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Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
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Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
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Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
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