Although it might seem farfetched, the famous comic book character Iron Man, created by Stan Lee in 1963, right stop being fiction and become a reality with help of our current technology. We have seen how in recent years technology has caught up with fiction, and China´s Space Agency is now trying to recreate this famous robotic body suit. They are even trying to match its iconic colors, and from what we have heard, their prototype will be used on their Mars mission.
Just like Iron Man, this prototype will allow its user to have work on hard space environments and handle heavy materials. China´s space team wants it to be able to perform landings, collect Martian dust and rocks, but most importantly be able to perform task as if it where on earth.
One curious fact is that Iron Man has been the most profitable movie in China, only surpassed by The Avengers. Some say this is the reason why Chinese space engineers are so eager to create their own version of this character.
The Chinese version of Iron Man is called Xiaotian, and was presented to the world in Shanghai at the China´s International Industrial Fair. Here, inventors and creators explained that they hoped to have Xiaotian operational in 2020 so it may be part of their Mars missions with their space probe created especially for him.
While technology is reaching newer heights in recent years, we see more and more people trying to assume new challenges and making what we once saw in movies, magazines and books a reality. Without a doubt, our ability to create is infinite, and as long as one dreamer exists, we will always find a way to bring these inventions to life.
Stan Lee is the perfect example of this, more than 50 years ago he imagined characters and worlds we didn’t even believe could ever exist. In some way, we have to say that thanks to visionaries like him, we have the technological advances we have today.
Changes are happening quickly, and we must be ready for embrace the future. And it is thank to technology and its remarkable advances that we are able to do so.
ALFA