Caterpillar has recently been funded by NASA to begin researching and developing ways to do heavy construction in outer space, mainly on the moon. Caterpillar has proposed a multi-terrain loader for lunar surface development. Currently they are basing their designs on current Earth equipment and simply upgrading it to function in space and on other heavenly bodies and to me that seems like the most cost efficient and practical way to start. They are working on a one size fits all machine that will be able to do all necessary operations in the construction and heavy work field. They also hope to have the machine autonomously operated. If Caterpillar designs a capable machine and gets a contract from NASA then they will be open to capture a place in the future market of space development, and be able to bring some of the technology back for implementation on Earth. Seems like they could be in a rather nice position, but first they have to make the machine.
The Fool
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