What is LARA?
LARA is a Lander Amorphous Rover Antenna. NASAs Exploration Initiative requires tools to support of near term human activities on the Moon or Mars. An ANTS craft is an appendage-less multi-tetrahedral structure, harnessing the effective skeletal/muscular system of the frame itself to enable more natural movement, effectively allowing flow across a surface or into a particular morphological form. Individual craft would be deployed, with or without a human crew, land, using a miniaturized version of high impulse thruster technology, transform into rovers, bowl-shaped antennas, hut-like human shelters, or more specialized service providers, as needed, and ultimately return to the point of deployment.
