The lunar rover Scarab designed by “Red” Whittaker and other people from Carnegie Mellon is being tested in Hawaii.

The test will take place at Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano, during the first two weeks of November and simulate a lunar mission.

The rover will be powered by radio isotopes and use about 100 watts of power. This small amount of power will make it move slowly, only about 5 inches per second.

Scarab also contains a drill and will be able to take core samples and examine them. The one meter core sample is pulverized and then heated to 900 degrees and the gases are examined. This process takes up to 20 twenty hours.

See our previous post about Scarab here. Video after the break.

Link via (Science Daily)