[1]Team Astrobotic is a for-profit lunar enterprise founded by leaders from Carnegie Mellon University, The University of Arizona and Raytheon to lead the rapidly unfolding commercial space industry.

Astrobotic Technology Inc. offers commercial robotic services, spacecraft navigation and mission operations for journeys to the moon, asteroids, and beyond. Astrobotic’s bid to win the Google Lunar X Prize is Tranquility Trek, a mission to Apollo 11.

Dr. Red Whittaker leads Team Astrobotic. Whittaker brings decades of experience in developing robots that walk into volcanoes, conduct field research in Antarctica, and crawl into failed nuclear plants to inspect damage. One of Carnegie Mellon’s specialties is autonomous navigation through unmapped terrain. 

 CMU will provide a hardy, intelligent roving robot, Red Rover, for Tranquility Trek.

The University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory is a premier center for research in planetary science. Science operations for NASA’s Phoenix Mars Mission, proving to be more successful than anyone imagined, currently are being conducted for the first time on a public university campus. The laboratory has been actively involved in over a dozen interplanetary exploration missions including the ongoing Cassini-Huygens, Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. UA’s space-qualified HD cameras are vital to the media plans for Tranquility Trek. The flight to the moon will be managed by UA.

Raytheon Company’s manufacturing excellence has produced more than a million tactical and space missiles. Astrobotic is converting Raytheon’s precision propulsion systems and missile guidance technology into a planetary landing system for Tranquility Trek and follow-on missions. Raytheon’s ability to land autonomously at an exact location will be new in planetary exploration.

Astrobotic Technology, Inc. Personnel

Dr. William L. "Red" Whittaker 
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Dr. William L. "Red" Whittaker is the Fredkin Professor of Robotics, Director of the Field Robotics Center, and founder of the National Robotics Engineering Consortium, all at Carnegie Mellon University. He has an extensive record of successful development of robots for craft, labor and hazardous duty. Examples include robots in field environments such as mines, work sites and natural terrain.

Whittaker's portfolio includes the development of mobile robots, modeling and planning for non-repetitive tasks, complex problems of objective sensing in random and dynamic environments and integration of complete field robot systems.

Dr. Whittaker’s awards include the Engelberger Technology Award
, Design News Special Achievement Award, Hero of Manufacturing Award, and an Aviation & Space Technology Laurel Award.

David Gump
, President
David Gump is president and co-founder of Transformational Space Corporation (t/Space). In 2004, his organization won a $6 million NASA contract to advise NASA about strategies and vehicle designs for a return to the moon.

In 1989, Gump co-founded LunaCorp, an “astroprenuerial” space company dedicated to commercial exploration and development on the moon. While there, he executive produced the first television commercial for RadioShack on the International Space Station. He also arranged for the crew to throw the ceremonial first pitch for the 2002 World Series on behalf of Fox Sports and Major League Baseball.

With a Bachelor’s degree from Macalester (St. Paul) College, and a Master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University, Gump co-founded Pasha Publications in 1978 and created the newsletters Space Business News, Military Space and SDI Monitor. He also is the author of “Space Enterprise: Beyond NASA” (1990) published by Praeger Publications.

Mark Kiley
, Chief Financial Officer
Alex Gutierrez
, Business Operations Manager
Richard Danforth, Financial Consultant
Russ Laney, Financial Consultant
Dr. Kahlid Al-Ali, Advisor

Tranquility Trek Team
Dr. Red Whittaker – team leader
Dr. Dante Lauretta – deputy team leader
F. Craig Baker – program manager
John Kohut – business development manager
Colleen Lester – public outreach manager