Tri-ATHLETE

ATHLETE second generation

The second ATHLETE generation, built at half the expected lunar scale to demonstrate moving and placing cargo. Each Tri-ATHLETE can undock and leave on its own.

Price: —Not published
Height: 400 cmTaller than 95%
Weight: —Not published
Payload: 450 kgCarries more than 100%
Speed: —Not published
Battery: —Not published

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Why it matters

Two independent three-limbed robots that dock to either side of a cargo pallet to form one six-limbed walking vehicle.

Real-world use

NASA lunar surface systems research

Timeline

First shown: 2009
Released: Not yet

Second-generation prototype constructed at JPL

Maker

NASA Jet Propulsion LaboratoryGovernment lab · Pasadena, California, USA

NASA; DARPA (RoboSimian)

How it stacks up

Against other legged & novel that publish the figure. Pick a measure.

Tri-ATHLETE (ATHLETE second generation) is taller than 95% of the 22 other legged & novel that publish a height. Bars show the 7 closest in date.

Height 400 cm 5 cm450 cm #2 of 23 · taller than 95%

Not published by the maker: weight, speed, joints, battery, price.

Public attention

How much public attention Tri-ATHLETE (ATHLETE second generation) gets, from open data.

No Wikipedia article of its own yet
No recent press stories listed yet

Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-14; same method for every robot. How it is measured

What’s inside

The parts the company has talked about publicly.

Movement: Wheel-legs
How it runs: Supervised. Operators directed it through workstation or handheld controls; two Tri-ATHLETE units docked to a cargo pallet used coordinated onboard control of all six limbs.
Actuators & motors: Two independent three-limbed robots; each limb has a powered wheel and enough DoF to act as a leg or manipulator.
Hands: Limbs use quick-disconnect tool adapters; wheel motor (about 1 hp) powers tools.
Other details: Two Tri-ATHLETEs dock to opposite sides of a cargo pallet to form a six-limbed vehicle, move it, then undock. Half lunar scale: stands just over 4 m tall with a 450 kg payload in Earth gravity. A low-gravity testbed was added in 2012.

Lineage

Every NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory machine in order.

Watch Tri-ATHLETE (ATHLETE second generation)

Video: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory on YouTube. Plays from youtube-nocookie.com when you press play.

Made, sold and where

Unit counts are usually company figures; analysts often disagree.

Price: Not published
How to get one: No official buying page found
Built: One second-generation system (two Tri-ATHLETEs)
Sold or delivered: not sold
Where it is sold or used: NASA JPL, Pasadena, California
Customers and pilots: NASA lunar surface systems research

Sources

Figures come from the maker. Every link below backs something on this page.

NASA JPL Robotics The ATHLETE Rover www-robotics.jpl.nasa.gov ATHLETE (All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer): how it is operated NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory The ATHLETE Rover

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