College student aims for the moon
Nicholas Acuna attaches an accelerometer, which measures acceleration, to the lunar rover. • Photos Submitted
By Tom Victoria
Nicholas Acuna is shooting for the moon, literally. The 21-year-old college junior is working on a lunar rover that is slated to make history.
Nicholas Acuna
He is the mechanical lead on the Iris, a four-wheeled robot scheduled for a targeted fall 2021 trip to the moon. Upon a successful deployment, Iris would be the United States’ first unmanned lunar rover.
“There are a lot of big titles we’re going for,” Nicholas said.
Although the United States is the sole nation to land astronauts safely on the moon, only Russia and China have operated unmanned rovers on the lunar surface.
Iris is being constructed by Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The rover, which passed NASA’s critical design review, will be transported by the Peregrine lander of aerospace company Astrobotic Technology.
Nicholas said Iris also could make history by being the template for a new standard of affordable robots not requiring the involvement of a space agency, which would significantly expand research in the future.
“Instead of $2 billion, it would cost $2 million,” he said.
Nicholas termed the concept of small, less costly unmanned rovers, or nano-rovers, the democratizing of space exploration. Iris, which has been in development under CMU professor William “Red” Whittaker since 2017, is remote-controlled and battery-operated.
“If I work hard, I can make anything happen.”
The chassis, which is roughly 10 inches by 7 inches by 4 inches, is comprised of a carbon fiber fabric on an aluminum mold. Janicki Industries built the chassis while CMU designed and built the wheels.
During a 72-hour span, the rover will employ onboard sensors to collect data regarding the moon’s surface.
Two years ago, Nicholas joined the Iris project without high expectations.
“I didn’t think I would contribute anything,” he said.
Nicholas was even late for the first meeting.
“I couldn’t find the room,” he said.
Nicholas checks the clearance for a mount plate during a test rover assembly.
Nicholas said Whittaker cautioned the freshman about the amount of work required to participate.
“Red said we can’t endure curiosity seekers,” Nicholas recalled. “He said if you make the grade, I look forward to working with you.”
Nicholas made the grade, and more, taking over as the mechanical lead when the first one was unable to continue on the project.
“It was very challenging,” he said.
Faced with a new team, including members who were older than Nicholas, he ensured they would see his commitment. Nicholas estimated spending several thousand hours on Iris.
“We made a lot of sacrifices for the project,” he said.
Nicholas seemed fated to work on Iris. He comes from a municipality outside Pittsburgh named Moon Township.
Nicholas is the mechanical lead on the Iris, a four-wheeled robot scheduled for a targeted fall 2021 trip to the moon. Upon a successful deployment, Iris would be the United States’ first unmanned lunar rover.
Nicholas gave up wrestling as a sport after committing to CMU, knowing if he wanted to become an engineer, he would not have time to do well in both.
“I picked engineering,” Nicholas said. “This is the long play.”
He took up rowing to pick up some of the athletic slack.
Nicholas enjoys the physical intuition aspect of engineering - envisioning how a structure should be constructed - saying that is where his talents lie.
He said his journey on the Iris project is a testament to not giving up and always putting forth the effort.
“If I work hard, I can make anything happen,” Nicholas said.
On the verge of making space exploration history, he said people need to have faith in their own abilities.
“Having the audacity to believe in yourself,” Nicholas said.
Nicholas is part of Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute.