NASA Robot 'Weaves' Rocket Parts for Future Mars Mission (VIDEO)

First Posted: Aug 05, 2015 10:31 AM EDT

A NASA robot may be set to build rocket parts for a Mars mission. A giant robot is actually helping engineers create the largest, lightweight composite rocket parts ever developed for future space exploration.

It all comes down to carbon fiber parts. Carbon fiber is currently the best material available for making spacecraft parts; it's lightweight and can withstand harsh pressures. Yet making carbon fiber parts isn't easy or cheap. In fact, prototyping and testing new carbon fiber designs is slow, expensive and labor-intensive.

That's where the new robot comes in. Mounted on a 40-foot-long track, the robot's head has 16 spools of composite fiber tape that it releases in precise patterns to make both small and large objects.

"This addition to Marshall's Composites Technology Center provides modern technology to develop low-cost and high-speed manufacturing processes for making large composite rocket structures," said Preston Jones, deputy director of Marshall's Engineering Directorate, according to the Times of India. "We will build and test these structures to determine if they are a good fit for space vehicles that will carry humans on exploration missions to Mars and other places."

The lighter the rocket, the more that the rocket can carry into space. This is crucial for long-term space missions that will require more supplies.

The new robot could help achieve that goal. It will build structures larger than 26 feet in diameter and will be able to produce structures far more quickly.

Want to see the robot for yourself? Check out the video below, courtesy of YouTube.