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Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
National
Corinne Purtill

How to build a robot arm that can flex in the moon's frigid south pole

Extreme cold is merciless on machinery. Fluids thicken to useless goo. Rubber seals stiffen and crack.

The problems pile up as the temperature falls. Metal becomes brittle, and wires contract. Batteries stop working, adhesives stop sticking and LCD screens go black as their liquid crystal freezes solid.

And that's just here on Earth.

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