MIT UFO Hovering Rover Moon
Aerospace engineers at MIT reveal a UFO-like hovering rover that actually levitates by harnessing the Moon’s natural charge. Since it lacks an atmosphere, the Moon can build up an electric field through direct exposure to the Sun as well as the surrounding plasma. This charge is strong enough on the lunar surface to levitate more than 1-meter above ground.


MIT UFO Hovering Rover Moon
The compact saucer would utilize tiny ion beams to both charge up the vehicle and boost the surface’s natural charge. This in turn would generate a relatively large repulsive force between the vehicle and the ground that requires very little power. A small, 2-pound vehicle should have no issues levitating with this level of ion boost.

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We think of using this like the Hayabusa missions that were launched by the Japanese space agency. That spacecraft operated around a small asteroid and deployed small rovers to its surface. Similarly, we think a future mission could send out small hovering rovers to explore the surface of the moon and other asteroids,” said Oliver Jia-Richards, lead author and a graduate student in MIT’s Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics.

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