Watch the video. Then watch it again. And again. And then, finally, look up as you say "Goodnight, Moon" and pray to god that the robot with a planned "launchable/releasable grappling hook" carrying payloads of up to 20 tons doesn't come for you in the night. Oh, and by the way, NASA plans to integrate a "useful "voice and gesture" command mode to enable suited astronauts to interact with these vehicles." That way you can beg for your life.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory robotics wing is leading a team with NASA's Johnson and Ames Centers, Stanford University, and Boeing to develop and demonstrate ATHLETE (All-Terrain Hex-Legged Extra-Terrestrial Explorer). The current ATHLETE is more than 4 meters in diameter and has a reach of over 6 meters. The planned final product will be twice as big. Moving at 10km/h (over 100 times faster than the Mars Rover) on lunar surfaces, you're also not going to be able to out run it.
Each of the six legs has wheels at the bottom, but when the wheels are locked in place, the legs can be used to scuttle around over rough terrain. And via cameras on each side, the robot can be easily remotely operated for fairly complex tasks.
The eventual goal is to demonstrate that ATHLETE can survive a ten-year life cycle on the moon and integrate it into the Human Lunar Return campaign. That means NASA wants to deploy a series of these things on the moon at the same time as actual people come and go, effectively ending any desire I've ever had to be an astronaut.
Now imagine ninja bot controlled by a moth. Just try and go to sleep.
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