PITTSBURGH, April 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Astrobotic Technology today announced a NASA contract to determine whether its polar rover can deploy an ice-prospecting payload to the Moon.

PITTSBURGH, June 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Astrobotic Technology Inc. and Carnegie Mellon University researchers have completed structural assembly of the lunar landing craft that will deliver the Red Rover robot to the moon in 2014. The half-ton aluminum structure will now be shipped to Boeing Co.

The Lunar X PRIZE Foundation, sponsored by Google, has confirmed the final line-up of 29 teams that will vie for the $30 million robotic Moon-explorer challenge.

As the race to the moon between private firms heats up, many have high expectations for Astrobotic Technology Inc.

Small robots the size of riding mowers could prepare a safe landing site for NASA’s Moon outpost, according to a NASA-sponsored study prepared by Astrobotic Technology Inc. with technical assistance from Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute.