Castrol's Legacy in Space: Innovating with MIT Media Lab

For over 65 years, Castrol have been providing  mission-critical lubricants that are essential for advanced space technologies. Their products, renowned for reliability in extreme conditions, have been chosen by NASA for missions like the Mars Perseverance and Curiosity Rovers. 

In 2023, Castrol began collaborating with the MIT Media Lab to support the AstroAnt Payload Program, which involves testing space-grade lubricants on AstroAnt—modular robotic swarms designed for lunar missions. This collaboration highlights Castrol’s ongoing commitment to driving innovation and pushing the boundaries of space exploration.

Testing the AstroAnt

AstroAnts are miniature swarm robots designed to perform inspections and diagnostic tasks on external surfaces of spacecraft, rovers, and landers.

Each featuring a modular design, the AstroAnts' sensor payloads can be tailored based on needs of various inspection missions—collecting data that can then be used to monitor operations in space.

Testing the AstroAnt in the Field

A miniaturized robot which will ride on top of the space rover. See the AstroAnt being tested in the field. 

And in 2025, working with the Lunar Outpost, AstroAnts will travel to the moon for their first technology demonstration test. The AstroAnts payload will be deployed on a Lunar Outpost MAPP rover to the lunar south pole. The MAPP rover will be carried by an Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander, all of which will have travelled aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Key tests and research have taken place in the run up to the launch. In February 2024, a research group travelled to the volcanic landscape of Lanzarote, Spain. Their research examined how well the miniature robot operated on terrain that resembled the moon's vast plains.

Why research is important: 
What does space look like in another 125 years?

Through this research collaboration, Castrol is supporting the MIT Media Lab's Space Exploration Initiative and Responsive Environments research groups.

Test, Test, Test

Castrol collaborated with MIT on their AstroAnt research, looking at why testing in extreme environments is vital to accelerate progress.