NASA Is Selling Off This Terrifying Space Suit Test Robot From 1965

Before NASA landed astronauts on the moon, it produced robots to help test space suits, one of which is now up for auction.

The ‘Power Driven Articulated Dummy’ project ran from 1963 until 1965 and produced two somewhat sinister robots with aluminium skin and fibreglass heads.

Though an astronaut could put on a spacesuit and describe how it felt, the robots were designed to provide quantitative data for more precise space suit design.

Capable of simulating 35 basic human motions, the robots featured sensors at each joint to measure the pressure imposed on the human body by a spacesuit.

Created for NASA by the IIT Research Institute in Chicago, the robots were height adjustable from 5’5” to 6’2”, with a face panel that could be removed to access the built-in circuitry.

The robots stood up to 6′2″ tall (RR Auction)

However, the oil that powered the robot’s hydraulic actions had a tendency to leak, meaning that NASA didn’t want to risk damaging any expensive space suits.

As scientists were unable to perfect the robot’s design and stop the oil leaking, the project was eventually dropped and the robots were never actually used.

Only two of the bizarre humanoids were ever made - this one was purchased as surplus from the University of Maryland and will be sold by RR Auction later this month.

The other is owned by the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

The online auction will begin on 15 September and finish with a live sale at the Royal Sonesta Boston on 26 September.

The robot is included among a series of space exploration artefacts being auctioned off, including an Air Force One guest book signed by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, along with the wives of the Apollo 13 crew and President Lyndon B.Johnson.

Image credit: RR Auction